Overview of the Covid-19 situation in Austria

As of December 3rd the 7-day incidence rate (new infections per 100,000 people) was 714. Carinthia (1,186) now has the highest incidence, followed by Vorarlberg (1,153), while Burgenland (476) and Vienna (398) have the lowest rates but are still classed as “very high risk” by Austria’s Corona Commission. 

A total of 154,223 people in Austria are currently positive for Covid-19 as of December 3rd, with 2,530 people being treated for the disease in hospital outside ICUs, according to AGES. An additional 642 Covid patients are currently in intensive care.

A total of 6,374,080 people (71.4 percent of the total population) have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose, according to the Health Ministry, and 6,007,080 (67.4 percent) have received two doses as of December 3rd.

Friday, December 3rd

The number of people to have received two vaccine doses in Austria has now passed 6 million, according to the Health Ministry.

The recommendations for people who have contact with a positive Covid case are being reviewed due to concerns over the new Omicron variant, the Health Minister has said, though we don’t yet know details.

The whole country remains red or ‘very high risk’ in the latest review from Austria’s Corona Commission, and the commission recommends a “cautious” re-opening when the lockdown ends on December 12th.

Recent protests against restrictions and against the planned vaccine mandate have led police in Lower Austria to strengthen their presence outside hospitals.

A case of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 has been confirmed in Vienna.

Thursday, December 2nd

A Covid-19 vaccine developed by Franco-Austrian biotech company Valneva is being assessed by the European Medicines Agency with a view to roll it out.

Wednesday, December 1st

Austria’s Härtefallfond (Hardship Fund) opens today for another round of applications for help from business owners affected by the consequences of the pandemic.

If the pandemic situation post-lockdown allows for shops to open, non-essential retail businesses will be allowed to open on Sunday, December 19th.

Thousands of people joined protests against Austria’s Covid restrictions and the plans for a vaccine mandate in particular, with demonstrations in several different cities and regions.

Tuesday, November 30th

The government gave a brief update on plans for the mandatory vaccination law following talks with experts and opposition parties, but there was no concrete news on the age range, exempted groups, or the fines that will apply.

Essential shops will close at 7pm during the second half of lockdown (starting on Thursday) in response to a trade union request.

The government officially extended the lockdown for an extra ten days, meaning December 11th will be the final day. 

In the past 24 hours, 8,186 new Covid-19 infections were reported in Austria.

Monday, November 29th

Austria has reported its first known case of the new Omicron variant of Covid, the Health Ministry confirmed on Monday.

The government met with scientific experts for the first summit since the national lockdown began a week ago today, to discuss the plan going forward and the impact of the new variant. There was no press conference after the summit.

Austria broke a positive Covid record on Friday, administering more than 150,000 Covid vaccine doses for the first time. That topped the previous record of 144,419 from early June. The vast majority (113,965) were third doses of the vaccine, together with 17,612 first doses and 20,292 second doses.

How does Austria compare to its neighbours?

The chart below from Our World in Data shows how the number of reported daily Covid cases in Austria compares to those in neighbouring countries.

Note that case numbers depend on rates of testing as well as the prevalence of the virus, so this is not necessarily a true comparison of the spread of the virus in each country.

Do you have a question about Covid-19 in Austria? Contact our editorial team at [email protected] and they will get back to you and do their best to help.