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Today in Austria For Members

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

Amanda Previdelli
Amanda Previdelli - [email protected]
Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
Start of registration for medicine studies in Austria (Photo by HANNAH MCKAY / AFP)

E-Control sees gas and electricity supply secured, VdB wants no prosecution against Kickl, Father arrested on suspicion of murdering his child in Tyrol and more news from Austria on Wednesday.

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  • E-Control sees gas and electricity supply secured

In Austria, there is no need to worry about a shortage of gas or electricity for the next few months, and fears of a blackout are also unfounded, E-Control board member Alfons Haber told Austrian press agency APA.

In 2022, more electricity was imported into Austria, but at no time was there a risk of a shortfall in Austria's electricity demand, Haber said. "There is also no immediate risk of a shortfall in electricity or gas for the next few months."

Austria had about 46 terawatt hours (TWh) of gas in storage at the beginning of the winter, equivalent to about 50 percent of annual consumption, said Johannes Mayer, head of the economics department at E-Control. "About 70 percent of the gas is c"A dramatic amount has to happen for that to be tight."

READ ALSO: What are the biggest threats facing Austria this year?

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  • What’s happening in Vienna in March 2023?

From one-off payments and Covid measures to festivals and events, we've gathered together the big events and changes in Vienna in March 2023 that are relevant for foreign residents.

  • VdB wants no prosecution against Kickl 

Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen will not grant authorisation for prosecution by the public prosecutor's office in the investigation of honour insult made by FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl against the president, according to a statement by the presidential chancellery.

During a party event speech, Kickl called President Van der Bellen a "mummy" and "senile", as The Local reported. Prosecutor's office asked the President for authorisation to investigate and prosecute, but VdB did not grant it.

READ ALSO: Can the Austrian president refuse to appoint a far-right chancellor?

  • Father arrested on suspicion of murdering his child

At the end of August, a six-year-old drowned in the Kitzbüheler Ache river in St. Johann in Tirol (Kitzbühel district). On Monday morning, his father was arrested on suspicion of being responsible for the death of the child, broadcaster ORF reported.

The child's death shocked Austria as the father said he was on his usual walk with his son when he received a blow to the head from an unknown perpetrator who made him unconscious. The police then assumed that the child, who had mental disabilities, may have gotten out of the stroller and fallen into the river - he was found dead 600 metres downstream.

However, the police now believe that the alleged robbery never occurred and that the 38-year-old father was responsible for the boy's death. He denied the suspicion and stuck to his previous account, police said. The authorities did not clarify what led them to the suspicion. 

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  • Registration for university entrance tests starts

This Wednesday, the online application formalities start for medicine and three fields of study at the University of Economics (WU). The entrance test for human medicine and dentistry will take place in July. At WU, the first step is registration.

There are 1,850 places available in human medicine and dentistry at the medical universities in Vienna, Innsbruck and Graz, and the medical faculty of Johannes Kepler University Linz. At least 75 percent of the spots in medicine are available exclusively for students with an Austrian Matura.

Registration starts on March 1st and lasts until March 31st at the Das Aufnahmeverfahren MedAT website. The university entrance tests will take place on July 7 from approximately 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The test results will be announced in the 32nd calendar week of 2023.

READ ALSO: Reader question: How can foreign doctors practise medicine in Austria?

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  • End of mask obligation in Vienna public transport

Since Wednesday - as in the other provinces - there is no longer an obligation to wear an FFP2 mask on buses and trains in Vienna. Unless you have tested positive for Covid, in which case you are still subject to traffic restrictions that will continue to apply until June 30th.

The mask requirements have also been dropped in pharmacies and courthouses in Vienna.

Other changes include the end of the block on the front doors of buses and older trams. During the pandemic, these doors were blocked in cars that did not have a closed driver's cab as a measure to protect the workers from infection.

Furthermore, visits to nursing homes and hospitals in Vienna are now once again possible spontaneously, as no PCR test is required. Employees of these facilities still had to be tested once a week as part of a screening program, but now this testing requirement has also been dropped.

The subsequent changes to the Corona measures will then follow in May, as the federal government drops some requirements, including the obligation to wear masks in nursing homes, hospitals, and doctor's 

READ ALSO: Austria to drop all Covid restrictions by the end of June

If you have any questions about life in Austria, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected].

 

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