Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz praised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday during an interview with the German newspaper Bild, saying that that Israeli leader had called his attention to the dangers of the coronavirus pandemic.
Kurz said that Austria was concerned because it bordered Italy and seen how Italy's healthcare system had "collapsed."
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Kurz said he "thanked God" for a conversation he had with Netanyahu, in which the latter warned him that he was discounting the effect that coronavirus would have on Europe and urged him to "wake up and do something."
The Austrian leader said that the conversation shook him, but prompted him to make Austria one of the first European countries to take serious action to counter the spread of the virus.
Over 3,000 Austrians have contracted coronavirus and eight have died from the respiratory illness that it causes, COVID-19. The country is under a strict stay-at-home policy, with much of its economy shut down. Still, compared to its southern neighbor, Italy, the situation appears under control and the healthcare system is functioning well.
