A press conference scheduled for 5pm was delayed by an hour on Monday due to a disagreement between Austrian authorities. 

Austrian media reports that a major sticking point was the date on which hospitality venues would again be allowed to open. 

Pubs and restaurants with terraces will be allowed to open from March 27th, although all visitors will need to have evidence of a negative test. 

Austria’s Kronen Zeitung said that the motto of the meeting was “better to be checked to the host than to a private party”. 

Youth and school sport will also be allowed to start again all over Austria from March 15th.

The loosening will come earlier in the state of Vorarlberg, with terraces allowed to open from March 15th. 

Cultural venues will also be allowed to open, while amateur sport will again be allowed. 

This was forecast by The Local Austria on Monday morning due to the state’s low coronavirus infection rates. 

“We start outdoors before we can dare to approach indoors,” said Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. 

Central to the plan is Austria’s vaccination framework. Austria, a country of nine million, is planning to have one million people vaccinated by Easter.