Sebastian Kurz

Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has sharply criticized the distribution of vaccines against the coronavirus in the European Union. The distribution of the medicines among the EU member states is unfair, contrary to the declared objective of fair participation, he said. Since there were striking differences in the progress of vaccination between the member states, he and other heads of government had compared the national supply data. The result was that deliveries were not made according to population keys: Deliveries were not being made according to population keys. "When I shared this information with some heads of state and government yesterday, many could not believe their eyes and ears," Kurz said.

Restaurants, cafés, and other eateries with outdoor seating will be allowed to reopen on March 27 with patrons having to produce mandatory evidence of a negative Covid-19 test result, Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced in a press conference on Monday. The province of Vorarlberg can reopen hospitality venues on March 15 due to a lower case count.

Austria has eased national lockdown restrictions, starting today. Non-essential shops, museums and libraries can reopen its doors with mandatory FFP2 masks for both guests and employees and a limited number of people. Hairdressers and other beauty-related services can reopen as well but, additionally to FFP2 masks, clients are required to produce a negative Covid-19 test result not older than 48 hours.

Hotels, restaurants, bars and cafes, as well as sports and other leisure facilities, will not be reopening this week.

The government has further imposed stricter entry and quarantine rules for travellers, including producing a negative Covid-19 result and committing to self-quarantine for 10 days.

In several Austrian provinces, including Tyrol, Carinthia, Vorarlberg and Vienna, several politicians, municipal employees and relatives were injected with leftover Covid-19 vaccine doses meant for residents and staff at elderly care homes.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz sharply criticised the behaviour.

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.

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.

Austria has seen a rise in Covid-19 infections, reporting 869 cases on Saturday. Masks will be mandatory in most public indoor places from Monday on, including all stores, museums and government buildings. Events will be limited to 50 attendants indoors and 100 attendants outdoors if no fixed seating is available. Events with spaced seating will be limited to 1,500 attendants inside and 3,000 attendants outdoors.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said he expected that the stricter measures will stay in force "for a long time", and Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler said that the government wants to avoid a second lockdown.

The Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has announced in a statement that during the next week "further measures" will be decided on with the goal to "prevent another lockdown". According to him at this point there is more information about the Covid-19 virus that enables "accurate measures".

In a press conference on Tuesday, Austria's chancellor Sebastian Kurz and vice-chancellor Werner Kogler announced that schools, restaurants and churches will be opened gradually starting May 15th.

After last week's reopening of small retailers, DIY and gardening stores, larger stores and malls are set to open at the beginning of May. Both Kurz and Kogler reiterated that they would review the situation on a biweekly basis and would pull the emergency brake if the situation worsened.

The northern neighbor country of Italy takes on new measures to prevent the coronavirus from spreading further. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has announced that people should only leave their homes for essential workes, essential shopping (such as food and medicine) and for helping other people.