Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Monday
Every weekday, The Local brings you an English-language summary of the news you need to know in Austria.
Package unveiled to combat inflation and rising fuel prices
Austria’s government unveiled a two billion package of measures to combat inflation and rising fuel prices on Sunday. The largest measure is a reduction in taxes on natural gas and electricity by the end of June 2023, which is expected to cost 900 million euros.
READ MORE: Austria unveils €2 billion relief package to fight rising fuel costs
There will be a 50 percent increase in the commuter allowance, costing 400 million euros. Around 150 million euros will be spent on encouraging people to use public transport and 120 million euros to help small and medium sized businesses with high fuel costs switch to greener energy.
A further 250 million euros will be spent on investments in wind and solar power.
The head of the Economic Research Institute (WIFO) Gabriel Felbermayr tweeted that the package was a “a reasonable compromise". However, the Austrian trade union federation (ÖGB) tweeted the cuts were too timid, and pointed out increasing the commuter allowance helped higher earners more than those on lower salaries.
School Covid-19 mask and testing rules to stay unchanged until Easter
The ÖVP Minister of Education Martin Polaschek has said the Covid-19 rules in schools will remain unchanged until the Easter holidays.
This means masks only have to be worn in the corridor despite stricter mask measures announced by the Minister of Health Johannes Rauch (Greens) at the weekend.
READ MORE: Austria brings back mandatory FFP2 face masks indoors as Covid cases soar
The rules around Covid-19 testing in schools will also stay the same. While free tests will be limited to ten per month nationwide from April 1st (five PCR and antigen tests each), schoolchildren may continue to take three tests per week for the time being.
There are no plans to lift the compulsory school attendance requirement although 20,000 students are currently infected, 1,200 classes are in distance learning and nine schools are closed, Der Standard newspaper reports.
READ MORE: EXPLAINED: Austria's new testing rules
Tourists avoiding Vienna’s hotels due to war in Ukraine
The head of the hotel industry group in Vienna’s Chamber of Commerce has told the Kronen Zeitung newspaper that the hotel industry in Austria’s capital is losing millions of guests due to the war in Ukraine.
Dominic Schmid said he believed the year would bring around 25 percent fewer overnight stays than originally expected, and many long-planned trips were being cancelled.
Doctors support MFG anti-vaccination party
Vienna’s doctors elected their professional representatives on Saturday to the Medical Association and gave the anti-vaccination party MFG (Menschen, Freiheit, Grundrechte or People, Freedom, Basic Rights) led by gynaecologist Christian Fiala, six of the total 90 mandates. This means doctors who oppose vaccination will be represented in the Medical Association.
The Austrian Press Association (APA) reports that the MFG party drew the greatest support from general practitioners, achieving 13 percent of the vote in this group.
READ MORE: Who are MFG – Austria's vaccine-sceptic party?
Benefit concert raises €810,000 for Ukraine relief effort
A benefit concert "We Stand With Ukraine" in Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium on Saturday evening raised 810,337 euros towards Ukrainian charities, expressing Austrians' solidarity with the besieged state. The concert featured local acts such as Seiler & Speer, Wanda and Pizzera & Jaus and Bilderbuch. Concert tickets were 19.91 euros (the price referred to the year 1991, when Ukraine became independent).
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Package unveiled to combat inflation and rising fuel prices
Austria’s government unveiled a two billion package of measures to combat inflation and rising fuel prices on Sunday. The largest measure is a reduction in taxes on natural gas and electricity by the end of June 2023, which is expected to cost 900 million euros.
READ MORE: Austria unveils €2 billion relief package to fight rising fuel costs
There will be a 50 percent increase in the commuter allowance, costing 400 million euros. Around 150 million euros will be spent on encouraging people to use public transport and 120 million euros to help small and medium sized businesses with high fuel costs switch to greener energy.
A further 250 million euros will be spent on investments in wind and solar power.
The head of the Economic Research Institute (WIFO) Gabriel Felbermayr tweeted that the package was a “a reasonable compromise". However, the Austrian trade union federation (ÖGB) tweeted the cuts were too timid, and pointed out increasing the commuter allowance helped higher earners more than those on lower salaries.
School Covid-19 mask and testing rules to stay unchanged until Easter
The ÖVP Minister of Education Martin Polaschek has said the Covid-19 rules in schools will remain unchanged until the Easter holidays.
This means masks only have to be worn in the corridor despite stricter mask measures announced by the Minister of Health Johannes Rauch (Greens) at the weekend.
READ MORE: Austria brings back mandatory FFP2 face masks indoors as Covid cases soar
The rules around Covid-19 testing in schools will also stay the same. While free tests will be limited to ten per month nationwide from April 1st (five PCR and antigen tests each), schoolchildren may continue to take three tests per week for the time being.
There are no plans to lift the compulsory school attendance requirement although 20,000 students are currently infected, 1,200 classes are in distance learning and nine schools are closed, Der Standard newspaper reports.
READ MORE: EXPLAINED: Austria's new testing rules
Tourists avoiding Vienna’s hotels due to war in Ukraine
The head of the hotel industry group in Vienna’s Chamber of Commerce has told the Kronen Zeitung newspaper that the hotel industry in Austria’s capital is losing millions of guests due to the war in Ukraine.
Dominic Schmid said he believed the year would bring around 25 percent fewer overnight stays than originally expected, and many long-planned trips were being cancelled.
Doctors support MFG anti-vaccination party
Vienna’s doctors elected their professional representatives on Saturday to the Medical Association and gave the anti-vaccination party MFG (Menschen, Freiheit, Grundrechte or People, Freedom, Basic Rights) led by gynaecologist Christian Fiala, six of the total 90 mandates. This means doctors who oppose vaccination will be represented in the Medical Association.
The Austrian Press Association (APA) reports that the MFG party drew the greatest support from general practitioners, achieving 13 percent of the vote in this group.
READ MORE: Who are MFG – Austria's vaccine-sceptic party?
Benefit concert raises €810,000 for Ukraine relief effort
A benefit concert "We Stand With Ukraine" in Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium on Saturday evening raised 810,337 euros towards Ukrainian charities, expressing Austrians' solidarity with the besieged state. The concert featured local acts such as Seiler & Speer, Wanda and Pizzera & Jaus and Bilderbuch. Concert tickets were 19.91 euros (the price referred to the year 1991, when Ukraine became independent).
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