Will Austria announce further relaxations of Covid measures this week?

All of Austria is still marked as 'red' or 'very high risk' by the Corona Commission, with a nationwide 14-day incidence rate approaching 2,500 (new confirmed cases per 100,000 residents).

To reach these classifications, each region is awarded a 'risk number' based on factors including new cases, hospital occupancy, but also things like the vaccination status and age of those who test positive. Vienna has the lowest risk number currently (1,144) but remains a long way from the under-100 value needed to lower its risk classification.

But despite repeated daily records for case numbers, the situation is not as severe as was first feared when the variant hit, with just under 200 people currently in Austria's intensive care units for Covid-19, a number that was around 600 in December.

And Vienna, Salzburg and Tyrol -- the countries which saw the quickest initial spread of Omicron -- are showing signs that they may have passed the peak.

Despite being one of the countries with the strictest Covid rules in Western Europe, Austria has already begun to relax its restrictions.

As of Saturday, proof of 2G is no longer required for non-essential retail or for cultural venues like museums, libraries and galleries, while the 10pm curfew for restaurants was pushed back to midnight the week before.

On Monday, Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein promised that there would be further relaxations in March, saying that this was possible due to the apparent drop in severe cases, which he attributed to Austria's high rate of booster vaccinations.

Any further changes decided at the summit should be presented in detail on February 19th, according to Mückstein, who said he wanted to present a plan that looked beyond March.

Some of the rules still in place include FFP2 mask requirements in most public places (for example in shops, museums, on public transport and in restaurants except when seated); a 2G requirement for restaurants which is already set to be extended to 3G from Saturday February 19th; and a 3G requirement for workplaces as well as a recommendation to work from home if possible.

In neighbouring Germany, plans are reportedly underway for almost all Covid measures to be lifted in a phased plan by March 20th.

And ahead of a summit on Wednesday between Austria's government and regional leaders, voices are growing stronger in favour of Austria following a similar path.

Of course, the other key topic up for debate at the summit will be Austria's highly controversial Covid-19 vaccination mandate.

Although it came into force from the start of the month, the first checks and fines are not set to happen until March, and with the apparent signs towards a decline in the Omicron wave, more and more regional governors are calling for a rethink.

Vorarlberg's governor has suggested keeping the mandate but not issuing any fines, while the governors of Salzburg and Carinthia have called for the proportionality of the law to be reassessed.

Besides these major questions, further issues on the agenda for the summit include whether to evaluate Austria's use of free Covid tests, and whether to change the rules for quarantine after contact with a positive case or a confirmed infection.