Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday
Number of Covid cases going down, Strache bribery trial scheduled and plenty more news on Thursday.
Number of Covid cases going down
For the first time since January, some federal states in Austria will have an "orange" traffic light, meaning they will not belong to the "high-risk zone", according to Austria's coronavirus commission.
Since January 13th, the "corona traffic light" has been red in all Austrian states. Burgenland, Vorarlberg, and Carinthia are now the only states in the red area.
This Wednesday, April 13th, the Health Ministry reported 12,471 cases of new infections in the country. There are currently 2,337 people in hospitals due to the disease, 150 fewer than the previous day. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 16,324 people have died from Covid-19 in Austria, 38 of them in the last 24 hours.
Case numbers are going down, but so are testing numbers. On Wednesday, the government reported that 177,359 PCR tests were taken, compared with 692,522 on the last Wednesday in March. Since April 1st, Austria no longer provides free unlimited tests to its citizens.
READ ALSO: Vienna: How tourists, visitors (and residents) can get free Covid tests
Complaints about mask requirements
Trade representatives are asking for an end to the mask requirement in stores and shopping areas in Austria. Currently, there is an FFP2 mask mandate in all indoor spaces in the country, as reported.
The national regulation on this expires on Saturday, March 16th. However, the government is still analysing whether it would be extended, Der Standard said.
Graz virologist Klaus Vander told broadcaster ORF that the end of the general FFP2 obligation indoors would be an understandable step and justifiable from a virological point of view.
"The currently favourable epidemiological situation certainly allows a general elimination of the mask requirement. However, a little differentiation must be made here: especially in health care, the mask should still be worn at least in dealing with patients or with those to be cared for", he said.
READ ALSO: Reader question: When is Austria dropping the mask mandate?
Former vice-chancellor back in courts
Former vice-chancellor and former FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache will see Austrian courts again in June as he faces accusations of bribery.
According to the indictment, a donation to an association close to the FPÖ was allegedly a bribe by real estate entrepreneur Siegfried Stieglitz, a co-defendant in the process. The executive was named to a supervisory board position in an Austrian state-run company, ASFINAG.
From October 2017, the Styrian real estate entrepreneur transferred a total of € 10,000 to the FPÖ-related association "Austria in Motion" in four tranches of € 2,500 each, ORF reported.
Strache is said to have ensured that Stieglitz finally ended up at ASFINAG, text messages show. The presumption of innocence applies to both defendants.
READ ALSO: ‘Ibizagate’: What you need to know about the Austrian political corruption scandal
Nehammer says "gas supplies are secured"
Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) has given further insights into his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin raised the gas issue himself during his visit to Moscow on Monday, Nehammer said. The Russian leader has stated that "the gas supply is secured. As contractually promised, Russia will deliver the quantities, and payment can continue in euros."
Nehammer also continued to reject a gas embargo against Russia.
"Demanding this gas embargo would mean that both industry and households suffer serious damage", he said. Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary are highly dependent on Russian gas.
READ ALSO: Is Austria set for a gas price hike – and what can you do to avoid it?
More than 15,000 applicants for fewer than 2,000 spots in medicine
This year, 15,788 people registered for the joint admission procedures of the Medical Universities in Vienna, Innsbruck, and Graz and the Medical Faculty of the Johannes Kepler University Linz.
For the academic year 2022/23, a total of 1,850 spots are available for new students at the universities. At least 95 per cent of the vacant spots are reserved for EU citizens, and at least 75 per cent are exclusive for students who have a school leaving certificate (Matura) from Austria.
The exams, which also evaluate "social-emotional competencies" as well as cognitive skills like memory, will take place on July 8th.
READ ALSO: What is Austria’s Matura exam and why do some want it abolished?
Traffic expected for Easter weekend
From Friday afternoon, there will be long traffic jams, especially on the motorways in and around the federal capital Vienna, the Donauuferautobahn (A22), Südautobahn (A2), Südosttangente (A23) and Westautobahn (A1), according to the Austrian motor association ARBÖ.
Traffic jams are also expected on the city exits, such as Altmannsdorfer Straße, Hadikgasse, Triester Straße, and in the inner-city.
In Linz, drivers should plan for longer waiting times until the evening, especially on the Mühlkreisautobahn and the Ebelsberg bypass and Kremstal Straße (B139) on the Traun bypass.
In Graz, Conrad-von-Hötzendorf-Straße, Merangasse, Plüddemanngasse and Südautobahn (A2) between Graz/Ost junctions and Graz/West junctions are considered classic traffic jam routes.
READ ALSO: Easter holidays: What to expect if you are coming to Austria
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Number of Covid cases going down
For the first time since January, some federal states in Austria will have an "orange" traffic light, meaning they will not belong to the "high-risk zone", according to Austria's coronavirus commission.
Since January 13th, the "corona traffic light" has been red in all Austrian states. Burgenland, Vorarlberg, and Carinthia are now the only states in the red area.
This Wednesday, April 13th, the Health Ministry reported 12,471 cases of new infections in the country. There are currently 2,337 people in hospitals due to the disease, 150 fewer than the previous day. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 16,324 people have died from Covid-19 in Austria, 38 of them in the last 24 hours.
Case numbers are going down, but so are testing numbers. On Wednesday, the government reported that 177,359 PCR tests were taken, compared with 692,522 on the last Wednesday in March. Since April 1st, Austria no longer provides free unlimited tests to its citizens.
READ ALSO: Vienna: How tourists, visitors (and residents) can get free Covid tests
Complaints about mask requirements
Trade representatives are asking for an end to the mask requirement in stores and shopping areas in Austria. Currently, there is an FFP2 mask mandate in all indoor spaces in the country, as reported.
The national regulation on this expires on Saturday, March 16th. However, the government is still analysing whether it would be extended, Der Standard said.
Graz virologist Klaus Vander told broadcaster ORF that the end of the general FFP2 obligation indoors would be an understandable step and justifiable from a virological point of view.
"The currently favourable epidemiological situation certainly allows a general elimination of the mask requirement. However, a little differentiation must be made here: especially in health care, the mask should still be worn at least in dealing with patients or with those to be cared for", he said.
READ ALSO: Reader question: When is Austria dropping the mask mandate?
Former vice-chancellor back in courts
Former vice-chancellor and former FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache will see Austrian courts again in June as he faces accusations of bribery.
According to the indictment, a donation to an association close to the FPÖ was allegedly a bribe by real estate entrepreneur Siegfried Stieglitz, a co-defendant in the process. The executive was named to a supervisory board position in an Austrian state-run company, ASFINAG.
From October 2017, the Styrian real estate entrepreneur transferred a total of € 10,000 to the FPÖ-related association "Austria in Motion" in four tranches of € 2,500 each, ORF reported.
Strache is said to have ensured that Stieglitz finally ended up at ASFINAG, text messages show. The presumption of innocence applies to both defendants.
READ ALSO: ‘Ibizagate’: What you need to know about the Austrian political corruption scandal
Nehammer says "gas supplies are secured"
Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) has given further insights into his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin raised the gas issue himself during his visit to Moscow on Monday, Nehammer said. The Russian leader has stated that "the gas supply is secured. As contractually promised, Russia will deliver the quantities, and payment can continue in euros."
Nehammer also continued to reject a gas embargo against Russia.
"Demanding this gas embargo would mean that both industry and households suffer serious damage", he said. Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary are highly dependent on Russian gas.
READ ALSO: Is Austria set for a gas price hike – and what can you do to avoid it?
More than 15,000 applicants for fewer than 2,000 spots in medicine
This year, 15,788 people registered for the joint admission procedures of the Medical Universities in Vienna, Innsbruck, and Graz and the Medical Faculty of the Johannes Kepler University Linz.
For the academic year 2022/23, a total of 1,850 spots are available for new students at the universities. At least 95 per cent of the vacant spots are reserved for EU citizens, and at least 75 per cent are exclusive for students who have a school leaving certificate (Matura) from Austria.
The exams, which also evaluate "social-emotional competencies" as well as cognitive skills like memory, will take place on July 8th.
READ ALSO: What is Austria’s Matura exam and why do some want it abolished?
Traffic expected for Easter weekend
From Friday afternoon, there will be long traffic jams, especially on the motorways in and around the federal capital Vienna, the Donauuferautobahn (A22), Südautobahn (A2), Südosttangente (A23) and Westautobahn (A1), according to the Austrian motor association ARBÖ.
Traffic jams are also expected on the city exits, such as Altmannsdorfer Straße, Hadikgasse, Triester Straße, and in the inner-city.
In Linz, drivers should plan for longer waiting times until the evening, especially on the Mühlkreisautobahn and the Ebelsberg bypass and Kremstal Straße (B139) on the Traun bypass.
In Graz, Conrad-von-Hötzendorf-Straße, Merangasse, Plüddemanngasse and Südautobahn (A2) between Graz/Ost junctions and Graz/West junctions are considered classic traffic jam routes.
READ ALSO: Easter holidays: What to expect if you are coming to Austria
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