Austria began to loosen its COVID-19 lockdown on Tuesday but citizens will have to stick to strict guidelines laid out by the government. 

Small shops, hardware stores and gardening centers have been allowed to reopen but all must obey a customer quota to ensure that social distancing rules are maintained.

The government has made it compulsory for masks to be warn outside of the house to try and prevent the spread of further infection. Austria was one of the first European countries to implement cautionary COVID-19 measures, something which many say is why it has been able to keep its infection rate relatively low and steady.

With unemployment across the country having risen by 200,000 in the first two weeks of lockdown, authorities are keen to get people back to work so this figure doesn't spiral even further. 

The plan is for other shops and businesses, such as restaurants and hotels, to reopen in mid-May, but public gatherings will not be allowed until at least the end of June, the government has also confirmed.

Factories, industries and schools will all remain closed until further notice. There are doubts as to whether schools will be reopening before the academic year finishes in June.

So far Austria has had more than 14,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 386 fatalities and many are concerned that the measures are being lifted too early.

The hope is that by loosening the measures slightly, there won't be a quick spike in cases, while many people can return to some kind of normality.

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