Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday
Every weekday, The Local brings you an English-language summary of the news you need to know in Austria.
An end to the lockdown for the unvaccinated
In case you missed it, yesterday's big news was the government announcement that the lockdown for people without proof of 2G -- which has been in place since mid-November -- will end on Monday.
That doesn't mean a lot of change in practice: people without 2G will be able to leave their homes for any reason, but will still be unable to enter places with 2G entry requirements, currently most public places.
Changes to rules over booster doses
Starting from February 1st, it will be possible to get a booster dose from three months (90 days) after the second dose, the government also announced yesterday.
However, the National Vaccination Committee still recommends getting the booster between four and six months after the second.
Some people who received their booster dose before the four-month limit were unable to receive official proof of this, with their vaccine certificates showing they had received only '2/2' doses instead of '3/3'. After the change, these people should be able to get their valid vaccine proof.
Over 30,000 new infections
For the first time, Austria reported more than 30,000 new Covid-19 infections in 24 hours, with the Health and Interior Ministries reporting a total of 34,011 cases on Wednesday.
That's up from 27,677 last Wednesday. Wednesdays are typically the weekday with the most recorded cases, partly because the weekly PCR tests taken in schools are often included in these results.
Second home owners lose right to vote in Lower Austria
Lower Austria's regional government has decided to limit voting rights in provincial and municipal elections to people whose main residence (Hauptwohnsitz in German) is in the region.
One of the reasons for the change is that in March Vienna will introduce a parking permit system across the whole of the city, under which only people with their Hauptwohnsitz in Vienna can reserve a parking space. Because the two regions are neighbours and a lot of people commute between the two or have residences in both, Lower Austria anticipates people changing their registered residence as a result of the new parking rule.
How Austria's tourism sector was hit by the pandemic
A total of 80 million overnight stays took place in Austria in 2021 -- for context, you'd have to go back to 1970 to find an equally low level.
The data comes from Statistics Austria and shows a decline of just under 20 percent compared to the first year of the pandemic, 2020. The numbers fell among both foreign and domestic guests but, due to a combination of travel restrictions and Austria's pandemic restrictions, the decline was greater among tourists from overseas. Hotels were entirely closed under Austria's lockdowns between January and May and again in November.
Burgenland and Vienna recorded more overnight stays in 2021 than in 2020, but in the rest of the regions there were significant declines, with Salzburg and Tyrol the most affected, each seeing declines of around 30 percent year on year.
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An end to the lockdown for the unvaccinated
In case you missed it, yesterday's big news was the government announcement that the lockdown for people without proof of 2G -- which has been in place since mid-November -- will end on Monday.
That doesn't mean a lot of change in practice: people without 2G will be able to leave their homes for any reason, but will still be unable to enter places with 2G entry requirements, currently most public places.
Changes to rules over booster doses
Starting from February 1st, it will be possible to get a booster dose from three months (90 days) after the second dose, the government also announced yesterday.
However, the National Vaccination Committee still recommends getting the booster between four and six months after the second.
Some people who received their booster dose before the four-month limit were unable to receive official proof of this, with their vaccine certificates showing they had received only '2/2' doses instead of '3/3'. After the change, these people should be able to get their valid vaccine proof.
Over 30,000 new infections
For the first time, Austria reported more than 30,000 new Covid-19 infections in 24 hours, with the Health and Interior Ministries reporting a total of 34,011 cases on Wednesday.
That's up from 27,677 last Wednesday. Wednesdays are typically the weekday with the most recorded cases, partly because the weekly PCR tests taken in schools are often included in these results.
Second home owners lose right to vote in Lower Austria
Lower Austria's regional government has decided to limit voting rights in provincial and municipal elections to people whose main residence (Hauptwohnsitz in German) is in the region.
One of the reasons for the change is that in March Vienna will introduce a parking permit system across the whole of the city, under which only people with their Hauptwohnsitz in Vienna can reserve a parking space. Because the two regions are neighbours and a lot of people commute between the two or have residences in both, Lower Austria anticipates people changing their registered residence as a result of the new parking rule.
How Austria's tourism sector was hit by the pandemic
A total of 80 million overnight stays took place in Austria in 2021 -- for context, you'd have to go back to 1970 to find an equally low level.
The data comes from Statistics Austria and shows a decline of just under 20 percent compared to the first year of the pandemic, 2020. The numbers fell among both foreign and domestic guests but, due to a combination of travel restrictions and Austria's pandemic restrictions, the decline was greater among tourists from overseas. Hotels were entirely closed under Austria's lockdowns between January and May and again in November.
Burgenland and Vienna recorded more overnight stays in 2021 than in 2020, but in the rest of the regions there were significant declines, with Salzburg and Tyrol the most affected, each seeing declines of around 30 percent year on year.
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