Retirement and nursing homes of Health expressly state: “The measures for retirement and nursing homes shall not be disproportionate or cause unreasonable cases of hardship”. Temporary visiting bans were imposed in Upper Austria, Burgenland and Carinthia in view of the numbers of new infections being far in excess of the Austrian average. The Upper Austrian regulation (Provincial Law Gazette No. 104/2020) included several broadly formulated exceptions and ceased to be in force again from 6 December 2020. Burgenland made supplementary regulations for the duration of the visits (maximum one hour), conditions for visits in the resident’s room, for coma patients as well as tests after leaving homes (Provincial Law Gazette No. 7472020). The Carinthian regulation (Provincial Law Gazette No. 94/2020) stipulated a complete visiting ban with exceptions for palliative and hospice care. The NPM drew the attention of the Minister of Health and the Carinthian Governor to the fact that the legality and conformity with fundamental rights of the additional restrictions in the regulation are called into question. For example, it was planned from 12 to 21 November 2020 that home operators have to refuse admission to residents if they have spent more than an hour outside the home and were unable to present a negative COVID-19 test result. The NPM is of the legal opinion that residential units in retirement and nursing homes and homes for persons with disabilities are private living quarters, which is why it is not permitted to prevent returning there by means of a regulation. FFP2 masks and obligation to test The rapid succession of increasingly restrictive requirements from the Federal Government and individual Laender made it almost impossible for the homes to prepare and provide information about the new visiting regulations. From the beginning of December 2020, wearing an FFP2 mask was sufficient for all those who did not have the result of a current antigen or PCR test to be allowed to see their relatives in care. From the middle of December, visitors had to present a negative test result and wear an FFP2 mask during the visit. The tense relationship between infection prevention that is proportionate to the health risk and the right to privacy and family life exists and still has potential for conflict. At least during the nationwide lockdown in Austria from November 2020 there was little scope for extensive easing of restrictions. All of those involved in the care sector but also the general public, the media and relatives must be aware that outbreaks of infection with fatal consequences cannot be 100% avoided in care facilities despite all the efforts made and precautions taken. In light of restrictive hygienic measures it is even more necessary to accommodate the needs of the residents for comfort, occupation, inclusion and bonding. When it will be possible to supply residents and employees working in long-term care with vaccinations was not foreseeable for the NPM at the time of editing of this report. 40