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Today in Austria For Members

Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Friday

Emma Midgley
Emma Midgley - [email protected]
Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Friday
A couple walk past closed boutique stores on the Graben, a street in the city centre of Vienna that is normally packed with crowds of people during one of Austria's lockdowns. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)

Every weekday, The Local brings you an English-language summary of the news you need to know in Austria.

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Austria to relax almost all Covid-19 rules tomorrow

On Saturday, March 5th, Austria will relax many of its rules in place to stop the spread of Covid-19 despite large numbers of infections. There were 31,566 cases on Thursdays and all states in Austria are still classified as "red" by the Covid-19 traffic light commission.

However, the numbers of patients in Austria’s ICUs have stayed low during the Omicron wave, with a third of the number compared to the previous Delta wave. According to a draft of the regulation seen by Der Standard newspaper the new rules will be as follows. 

READ MORE: Everything that changes about life in Austria in March 2022

  • No more 3G rules (having to show you are vaccinated, recovered or have tested negative for Covid-19) for restaurants, events or shopping. The 3G rules will only remain in nursing homes and hospitals. 
  • Nightclubs and late night restaurants are allowed to open again, theoretically already at midnight on Saturday night.
  • Masks will no longer be mandatory except for places where vulnerable people have to go out for essentials. Masks will still be required in supermarkets, pharmacies, on public transport, in petrol stations and in banks.  
  • Vienna will have different rules to the rest of Austria. In the capital, only people who have been vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19 (the 2G rule) will be allowed into restaurants and cafes, as well as late night venues. There will be no 2G-plus rule for late night venues as previously rumoured. 

Health Minister resigned due to stress of job

Wolfgang Mückstein resigned on Thursday as Austria’s Health Minister having spent less than a year in post. In a televised statement, in which he could be seen wearing his trademark sneakers, the practicing doctor said he was no longer able to give 100 percent every day to combat the pandemic.

READ MORE: Austria health minister quits citing exhaustion and threats

He also said he and his family experienced daily threats and it had become difficult to live a normal life at the same time as needing constant police protection. The new Minister of Health is the Vorarlberg State Councillor Johannes Rauch (Greens).

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Austria plans increase in defence spending

Austria’s Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) has said “it makes sense” to increase the budget for defence spending according to the Austrian Press Agency (APA). Currently Austria spends about 0.74 percent of its GDP on its defence budget. Austria has no navy and is not a member of NATO.

It is not expected to spend two percent of GDP on defence, like Germany, but a comparable amount to other neutral countries, such as Switzerland, Brunner said. He also pointed out security investments are used to protect cyber security, economic resilience and energy supply as well as national security.

St Stephen's Cathedral Vienna's St Stephen's Cathedral has been lit up in the colours of the Ukrainian flag. (Photo by Stadt Wien).

Shelter opens in Vienna’s main train station

The charity Caritas has set up an emergency shelter for people who have fled from Ukraine at Vienna Central Station (Wien Hauptbanhof), which offers spaces for 50 people.

Crime related to right wing extremism on rise in Austria

The number of right-wing extremist crimes rose sharply in the pandemic year of 2021. A total of 1,053 crimes of this nature were recorded, compared to 895 the year before, broadcaster ORF reports.

The figures were released by the Interior Ministry in response to a parliamentary question by Sabine Schatz (SPÖ). The SPÖ spokeswoman said the  right-wing extremist scene had been strengthened by protests against government measures taken during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

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Lockdown for unvaccinated only "slightly effective"

Researchers from the University of Vienna found that Austria's recent lockdown for the unvaccinated in January was only "slightly effective" compared to previous lockdowns for everyone.

Researchers asked more than 1,200 people were asked about their behaviour in January in an online survey.

READ MORE: Will Austria’s vaccine mandate go ahead?

Speaking to Radio Vienna political scientist Julia Partheymüller said despite the lockdown, unvaccinated people still increased their social contacts in January. Unvaccinated people were also moving around more than people who were vaccinated.

Former ÖVP Family Minster arrested

The former ÖVP Family Minister Sophie Karmasin was arrested on Thursday afternoon, the Austrian Press Agency (APA) confirmed, following reports by Der Standard newspaper.  The Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office (WKStA) confirmed  the arrest as part of the investigation into advertising and surveys by political parties.

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