Austria to drop most Covid restrictions
As The Local reported on Wednesday, Austria will open up almost everywhere on Saturday March 5th. People will no longer need to show proof of recovery, negative tests or vaccinations (the 3G rules) unless visiting “vulnerable settings” such as old people’s homes or hospitals or in the workplace.
Masks will no longer be obligatory except in vulnerable settings, such as in hospitals or nursing homes, along with on public transport and for essential shops such as supermarkets.
Nightclubs will open and there will be no more curfew.
READ MORE: Austria to remove most restrictions from March 5th
Vienna to keep stricter rules than rest of Austria
However, as has occurred often during the pandemic, Vienna will take a different path. Vienna will continue to restrict cafes and restaurants to those who are vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19 (the 2G rule), while this will no longer be the case in the rest of Austria from February 19th.
When nightclubs and late restaurants open on March 5th, Vienna will only be accessible to those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered, or possibly with a negative test, Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) announced on Wednesday.
The indoor mask requirement for non-essential retail is also likely to remain in place for longer in Vienna than the rest of Austria.
End of free Covid-19 testing?
Due to resistance from Vienna, it is also unclear if Austria will stop offering free Covid-19 testing to everyone, a policy which has cost Austria around 2.6 billion euros so far during the pandemic.
Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein said he believed there was no longer a need for everyone to test, and wants to look into the possibility of testing sewage instead to track infections.
He also said testing would remain free of cost for people with Covid-19 symptoms or those who had been asked to test by the authorities.
However, Vienna, which carries out two thirds of PCR tests in Austria, wants to keep testing with its free Alles Gurgelt system.
Mayor Ludwig argues more testing means fewer infections and less pressure on hospitals. Mass testing will in any case remain free nationwide until at least until March 31st.
Speakers corner solution for protestors?
Shop traders in Vienna are suffering due to demonstrations which take place every weekend around the capital’s Ringstrasse, the federal chairman for Austria’s Chamber of Commerce says.
Dr Rainer Trefelik has called for speakers’ corners to be set up away from main shopping areas so that protests can be held without disrupting trade or main thoroughfares, broadcaster ORF reports.
Greenpeace protests against Lake Neusiedlersee development
Greenpeace activists are blocking access roads to a site on the Hungarian side of Lake Neusiedlersee to try to bring a halt to a huge hotel complex and marina which is being constructed there.
The lake, a world heritage site, is home to rare migratory birds.
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