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Today in Austria: A round-up of the latest news on Thursday

Emma Midgley
Emma Midgley - [email protected]
Today in Austria: A round-up of the latest news on Thursday
Vials with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine against the novel coronavirus are pictured at the vaccination center in Nuremberg, southern Germany, on March 18, 2021. - Germany on March 15 halted the use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine after reported blood clotting incidents in Europe, saying that a closer look was necessary. (Photo by Christof STACHE / AFP) / “The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Christof STACHE has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [AstraZeneca] instead of [AstraZenaca]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require.”

Find out what's going on today in Austria with The Local's short roundup of the news. 

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Lockdown begins

A strict lockdown has begun in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland and will last until 11th April, rather than 6th April as originally planned.

Vienna has introduced a mask requirement in busy parts of the city

EXPLAINED: What is allowed in eastern Austria during the hard lockdown over Easter

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AstraZeneca vaccination to continue for all age groups

Austria’s National Vaccination Committee has decided to continue using the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine without restrictions following discussions on Thursday evening, ORF reports, although Germany has restricted its use to people aged 60 and over.

READ MORE: Austria to ‘continue to give AstraZeneca to under 60s’

The European Medical Agency has said it does not see any age-specific risks with the coronavirus vaccine. 

Austria on Wednesday announced it is in the process of purchasing Russia's Sputnik vaccine, with a deal for one million doses to be done as early as next week

Exit controls loom for districts in Lower and Upper Austria

The Scheibbs district in Lower Austria is expected to stay at a seven day incidence of  400 today. This means that exit controls would come into force from tomorrow, Good Friday.

Preparations are already underway with the authorities and emergency services. In Upper Austria the Covid infection rate is also above 400 in the district of Braunau, broadcaster ORF reports. 

Vorarlberg goes red according to the Traffic Light Commission

Austria’s traffic light commission has now assessed the risk situation for coronavirus as very high for the whole of Austria and says every state should now be coloured red to indicate high risk, including Vorarlberg.

The decision was made due to the high numbers in intensive care and because the British variant of the coronavirus is now dominant in all Austrian states, broadcaster ORF reports.

Vorarlberg is the only state in Austria to open its restaurants and to start events, due to its low rates of infection.

EXPLAINED: How does Austria's Traffic Light system work? 

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