Austria

Austria will ease its lockdown measures on Monday, reopening stores, museums and schools while hotels and gastronomy have to remain closed until January 7th. The 24-hour-lockdown is being lifted, but a nighttime curfew between 8 pm and 6 am will still apply. Ski slopes will be opened on December 24th "so that the Austrian population has the chance to engage in sporting activity over the holidays."

Starting mid-December, arriving travellers will have to go into quarantine for 10 days but will be able to take a free test after five days and can leave quarantine early if the test comes back negative. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz appeared to blame Austrian residents with family abroad for bringing back the virus to Austria after returning from visits at the end of the summer, sparking criticism in the country.

"We had very, very low infection rates in the summer after the lockdown, and then the virus brought back into the country by people returning from their home countries, especially those who had spent the summer in their countries of origin," so Kurz.

British budget airline Ryanair will close its Vienna, Austria, base by the end of 2020, the Austrian national public service broadcaster ORF reports. Vienna-based employees are being told they can either relocate to a different location or lose their job.

The Austrian government has announced that it will start mass testing its population on December 2, starting with the capital Vienna, followed by six other states. In Vienna, a total of 1.2 million tests will be provided at three major locations with the support of the Federal Armed Forces. Appointments can be made online and Health City Councillor Peter Hacker (SPÖ) predicts a total of 150.000 daily tests.

The local council has decided to change the name of the 106-soul village from "Fucking" to "Fugging". Mayor Andrea Holzner (ÖVP) has stated "Yes, I can confirm that this renaming will take place, but I really don't want to say any more about it. We have already had enough media hype in the past".

The new name is said to take effect on January 1st in 2021.

Austria is planning to begin Covid-19 mass testing on December 5th, starting with teachers, police forces and communities with high infection rates. Seven million tests have been ordered so far and the government has mobilized both armed forces and forces to help with testing.

According to health minister Rudolf Anschober, the decisive factor is "that the tests do not create a false sense of security, but that they are accepted not as a substitute but as an additional measure to social distancing, masks and proper hygiene.

As the police reported, a 38-year-old and her 65-year-old mother wanted to feed the camels of a circus stranded in the Austrian town Ried (Innkreis). They each had a sack of carrots with them. One of the camels in the enclosure grabbed the vegetables greedily and knocked its mother over. Then it grabbed the carrots a second time and caught the woman lying on the ground by her forearm.

The 65-year-old had to be admitted to the hospital in Ried after the accident. According to the circus staff there was a sign saying that feeding the animals was forbidden. But before the incident, the sign was obviously torn down by an unknown person or by the camels themselves, according to the police report.

The Austrian government has announced a "hard lockdown" starting November 17th to contain rising numbers of Covid-19 infections. The country has seen an increase in cases in recent weeks, averaging over 7000 daily cases in the past seven days. Aa partial lockdown was introduced two weeks ago but was deemed ineffective in stopping the spread of the virus.

The new and stricter measures, which will be in effect until at least December 6th, include the closing of schools and all non-essential businesses as well as a 24-hour curfew. People are urged to stay inside their homes except for a few exceptions, e.g. for emergencies, job-related purposes, "necessary basic needs of daily life", help and care of family members and "physical and mental recovery". Restaurants, gyms and museums have already been closed since early November. 

Austria has recorded 9,262 new Covid-19 infections over the past 24 hours, including late reports of new infections from the last few days due to technical problems in the reporting system.

Health Minister Rudolf Anschober appeals to operators and customers of shopping centers to adhere to Covid-19 regulations, after pictures of people crowded together in shopping centers surfaced.

As a consequence of the attack in Vienna, the German police union ("Gewerkschaft der Polizei") is demanding that people who pose a risk to society are monitored by federal authorities in the future.

Complete monitoring of potential terrorists is no longer possible due to the lack of personnel at the state level.

Berlin currently counts 88 Islamists, whose surveillance would require 2,640 officials. The land has 190 at its disposal.

Germany, Austria and France are planning a joint initiative against terrorism. In terms of content, a ban on end-to-end encryption, the deportation of "extremist conspicuous" people and the training of imams will be discussed.

The German EU Council Presidency has previously prepared a draft resolution on the handling of encryption on behalf of the EU states, as confirmed by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior.

This week, the EU interior ministers' council will also discuss this. However, individual claims have already been publicly denied.

The Austrian Federal President suffered a painful pelvic injury in a fall in his second official residence. According to the statement, Van der Bellen will stay in the hospital for the next few days for pain therapy, but an operation is not necessary. "The Federal President is otherwise in good spirits", according to a statement.

Update: The police have stated that during a terrorist attack in Vienna at least three people have been killed and several people have been injured.

There is at least one perpetrator who has been shot by police forces, there is the possibilty of additional perpetrators.

The confirmed shooter had been armed with an assault rifle.

Starting Tuesday, November 3, Austria enters its second lockdown which is set to last until November 30. Newly imposed restrictions include a nightly curfew from 8 pm to 6 am during which citizen are not allowed to leave their homes except for emergencies, job-related purposes, "necessary basic needs of daily life", help and care of family members and "physical and mental recovery". Restaurants, bars and gyms must be closed, and all events will be cancelled throughout November. The Austrian government has further introduced a "two-household-rule", meaning gatherings are restricted to a maximum of six people from not more than two different households.

"We are aware that these measures are unpopular", said Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) on Saturday.

Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz has stated that he considered a second lockdown as a measure of last resort to contain the further spread of Covid-19 and prevent hospitals reaching capacity.

"We have a massively increasing, exponential growth. It is an extreme challenge. The situation is very, very serious, even for those who still refuse to believe it," so Kurz.

Covid-19 cases have doubled in Europe over the past ten days, rising from 100,000 to 200,000. Multiple countries, including Austria, Germany, Italy and France, have reported daily records in the past week.

Austria has recorded new 2,435 Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours on Thursday, its highest daily record since the start of the pandemic. The country has seen a steady increase in cases since September,

In 2021 the Austrian government will provide 40 million euros in funding for electric cars. This was announced by Environment and Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler on Sunday.

In the years 2019 and 2020, a total of 93 million euros - together with the automobile importers - were available. As the APA (Austrian Press Agency) stated, these funds have now been almost completely exhausted. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the ministry had increased the subsidy per e-car from 3000 to 5000 euros.

Alexander Schallenberg and Sophie Wilmes, foreign ministers of Austria and Belgium, have tested positive for coronavirus after attending a meeting in Luxembourg earlier this week. Both announced their test results, separately, on Saturday.

Wilmes announced her positive test in a post on Twitter: "My COVID test result is positive. Contamination probably occurred within my family circle given the precautions taken outside my home."

A spokeswoman for Austria’s Foreign Ministry stated: "It is suspected that Schallenberg might have been infected at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on Monday."

Austria has recorded 1,552 Covid-19 cases within a 24-hour period on Thursday – the highest daily number since the start of the pandemic in March.

At a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, the foreign ministers agreed to begin the necessary preparations, as the German Press Agency learned from several diplomats.

Austria's foreign minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) confirmed on Monday that there was a "fundamental consensus" among EU countries to impose "sanctions against individuals directly connected with these chemical weapons" in the Navalny case. No details on possible concrete measures have been given so far. According to Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, the preparation of a sanctions list could take several more weeks.