Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday
Austrian government makes u-turn on masks in schools as Covid cases fall and more news on Thursday.
Masks to be dropped in school
The Minister of Education Martin Polaschek (ÖVP) confirmed on Wednesday that the mask requirement in schools should be lifted from Monday, including in the school corridors and for everyone who works or attends Austria's schools. This also applies to unvaccinated teaching staff, who previously had to wear a mask throughout the school. However, if there are positive cases or vulnerable people in the classroom, the mask requirement can be reintroduced. Der Standard newspaper comments that the Ministry of Education said just three days ago that mask rules requiring school children to wear masks outside the classroom would not be changed in schools for the time being. However, Polaschek argues the falling numbers of cases of Covid-19 mean that masks no longer need to be worn.
Covid traffic light commission classifies most Austrian states as lower risk
Falling Covid-19 cases means that most states in Austria have been downgraded from the highest risk level (red), to the lower risk orange. Only the state of Burgenland is still red according to Austria’s Covid traffic light commission. Infections are declining in all federal states. Salzburg is the closest to turning yellow - or being designated as medium risk.
There has also been a sharp drop in testing, down to 16,401 tests per 100,000 inhabitants. A week ago this figure was almost 38,400 and two weeks ago 51,200. A third of previous tests are being carried out in Vienna since the amount of free testing was reduced. In Tyrol there is very little testing, with just 3,800 tests carried out per 100,000 inhabitants.
FPÖ leader avoids fine over breaking mask and distance rules at demo
The chairman of Austria’s far right FPÖ party, Herbert Kickl, has managed to overturn an 231 euro administrative fine he was given after taking part in an anti-coronavirus measures demonstration on March 6th, 2021 in Vienna. Kickl argued he was unable to keep a two metre distance from others due to police cordons and had only removed his FFP2 mask to drink some water. In addition the police officer who reported the crime could not remember the exact time of the crime, as the report was written about five hours after the observation. Only "1010, Burgring" was noted as the "crime scene", broadcaster ORF reports.The Vienna Administrative Court upheld the complaint by the party leader, and the proceedings were discontinued.
States in Austria want to tax empty homes
The city of Vienna has asked the federal government to give it powers to tax the owners of apartments which are lying empty. According to the Wiener Zeitung, thousands of apartments in Vienna are empty, although rents are rising. The City of Vienna sent a letter to the responsible ministries in November 2020 proposing a vacancy tax to encourage people to rent out their empty apartments. However, the federal government rejected this idea at the beginning of the week. The Ministry of Finance said it was difficult to tell if an apartment was inhabited and said the measure could lead to more short-term leases or the extra tax being passed onto tenants.
Tyrol is also considering a draft law that would allow municipalities to levy a tax on unused apartments. Salzburg is also considering an empty apartment tax, and on April 26th Styria is set to pass a law which allows the SPÖ-ÖVP state government to tax second homes and empty apartments.
Austria has stopped importing oil from Russia
Although it continues to be heavily reliant on Russian gas, Austria has stopped importing oil from Russia. According to data from Statistics Austria and the Association of the Mineral Oil Industry, only 7.8 percent or 596,000 tons of Austrian oil imports came from Russia in 2021. "The purchase of oil from Russia was always very low, at the beginning of the war we replaced it with other oil from the market," said an OMV spokesman, the Krone newspaper reports.
Austria prepares for an estimated 200,000 refugees
Austria’s refugee coordinator Michael Takács has said he expects a total of 200,000 displaced people to come to Austria due to the new Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine. Preparations are underway for this many people, he said in a press conference on Wednesday evening after a working visit to Upper Austria. So far, 230,000 of the 277,000 Ukrainians who have entered the country have traveled on, mainly to Portugal, Spain, Italy and Germany.
Free festival in Vienna returns this summer
Vienna’s free Danube Island Festival is planned to go ahead from June 24th to 26th, just like in pre-pandemic times. Providing the Covid situation allows, the event will take place with all stages and free entry. There should be no checks on vaccination status or mask requirements according to the Vienna SPÖ party, which organises the festival. The theme this year will be #DreamTeamWIEN and there will be a new "Heurigen and Storytelling Island". In addition to local acts, there will also be international performers, with a K-Pop evening with participants from South Korea. More details will be released later.
Deer have become fat and unhealthy from overfeeding
Visitors have been asked to stop feeding deer living on Linz's Pöstlingberg after the four adults and three young animals were found to be suffering from obesity and high blood sugar. Walkers and visitors kept throwing apples, bread or corn on the cob into the deer’s enclosure, the Krone newspaper reports.
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Masks to be dropped in school
The Minister of Education Martin Polaschek (ÖVP) confirmed on Wednesday that the mask requirement in schools should be lifted from Monday, including in the school corridors and for everyone who works or attends Austria's schools. This also applies to unvaccinated teaching staff, who previously had to wear a mask throughout the school. However, if there are positive cases or vulnerable people in the classroom, the mask requirement can be reintroduced. Der Standard newspaper comments that the Ministry of Education said just three days ago that mask rules requiring school children to wear masks outside the classroom would not be changed in schools for the time being. However, Polaschek argues the falling numbers of cases of Covid-19 mean that masks no longer need to be worn.
Covid traffic light commission classifies most Austrian states as lower risk
Falling Covid-19 cases means that most states in Austria have been downgraded from the highest risk level (red), to the lower risk orange. Only the state of Burgenland is still red according to Austria’s Covid traffic light commission. Infections are declining in all federal states. Salzburg is the closest to turning yellow - or being designated as medium risk.
There has also been a sharp drop in testing, down to 16,401 tests per 100,000 inhabitants. A week ago this figure was almost 38,400 and two weeks ago 51,200. A third of previous tests are being carried out in Vienna since the amount of free testing was reduced. In Tyrol there is very little testing, with just 3,800 tests carried out per 100,000 inhabitants.
FPÖ leader avoids fine over breaking mask and distance rules at demo
The chairman of Austria’s far right FPÖ party, Herbert Kickl, has managed to overturn an 231 euro administrative fine he was given after taking part in an anti-coronavirus measures demonstration on March 6th, 2021 in Vienna. Kickl argued he was unable to keep a two metre distance from others due to police cordons and had only removed his FFP2 mask to drink some water. In addition the police officer who reported the crime could not remember the exact time of the crime, as the report was written about five hours after the observation. Only "1010, Burgring" was noted as the "crime scene", broadcaster ORF reports.The Vienna Administrative Court upheld the complaint by the party leader, and the proceedings were discontinued.
States in Austria want to tax empty homes
The city of Vienna has asked the federal government to give it powers to tax the owners of apartments which are lying empty. According to the Wiener Zeitung, thousands of apartments in Vienna are empty, although rents are rising. The City of Vienna sent a letter to the responsible ministries in November 2020 proposing a vacancy tax to encourage people to rent out their empty apartments. However, the federal government rejected this idea at the beginning of the week. The Ministry of Finance said it was difficult to tell if an apartment was inhabited and said the measure could lead to more short-term leases or the extra tax being passed onto tenants.
Tyrol is also considering a draft law that would allow municipalities to levy a tax on unused apartments. Salzburg is also considering an empty apartment tax, and on April 26th Styria is set to pass a law which allows the SPÖ-ÖVP state government to tax second homes and empty apartments.
Austria has stopped importing oil from Russia
Although it continues to be heavily reliant on Russian gas, Austria has stopped importing oil from Russia. According to data from Statistics Austria and the Association of the Mineral Oil Industry, only 7.8 percent or 596,000 tons of Austrian oil imports came from Russia in 2021. "The purchase of oil from Russia was always very low, at the beginning of the war we replaced it with other oil from the market," said an OMV spokesman, the Krone newspaper reports.
Austria prepares for an estimated 200,000 refugees
Austria’s refugee coordinator Michael Takács has said he expects a total of 200,000 displaced people to come to Austria due to the new Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine. Preparations are underway for this many people, he said in a press conference on Wednesday evening after a working visit to Upper Austria. So far, 230,000 of the 277,000 Ukrainians who have entered the country have traveled on, mainly to Portugal, Spain, Italy and Germany.
Free festival in Vienna returns this summer
Vienna’s free Danube Island Festival is planned to go ahead from June 24th to 26th, just like in pre-pandemic times. Providing the Covid situation allows, the event will take place with all stages and free entry. There should be no checks on vaccination status or mask requirements according to the Vienna SPÖ party, which organises the festival. The theme this year will be #DreamTeamWIEN and there will be a new "Heurigen and Storytelling Island". In addition to local acts, there will also be international performers, with a K-Pop evening with participants from South Korea. More details will be released later.
Deer have become fat and unhealthy from overfeeding
Visitors have been asked to stop feeding deer living on Linz's Pöstlingberg after the four adults and three young animals were found to be suffering from obesity and high blood sugar. Walkers and visitors kept throwing apples, bread or corn on the cob into the deer’s enclosure, the Krone newspaper reports.
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