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COVID-19

Travellers from Norway without Covid booster face Austrian quarantine

Norway was on Wednesday added to Austria's virus variant list, increasing the level of restrictions on entry to the Alpine country.

A security guards check for vaccination passes of visitors arriving at the Christmas Market in front of Vienna's city hall in Vienna, Austria
A security guards check for vaccination passes of visitors arriving at the Christmas Market in front of Vienna's city hall in Vienna, Austria. Photo by Joe Klamar/ AFP.

Along with the UK, Denmark and the Netherlands, Norway was placed on the virus variant list, called Virusvariantgebiete in German, meaning entry to Austria is generally prohibited.

The change, which will come into effect on December 25th, was announced by Austrian authorities after a Covid summit on Wednesday, potentially sending Christmas travel plans into disarray.

Austrian, EU/EEA and Swiss citizens, people who share a household with them, and other people travelling for essential reasons, can still enter Austria from Norway and the other affected countries but need to fill out a pre-travel clearance form and enter a ten-day quarantine on arrival.

This quarantine can be ended after five days at the earliest with a negative PCR test result, with the day of arrival being counted as ‘day zero’.

People who are allowed to enter can avoid the quarantine only if they have received a booster vaccination and also show a negative PCR test on arrival. Neither a PCR test nor a booster shot alone is sufficient to avoid quarantine.

Everyone entering Austria needs to provide proof of full vaccination or recovery. This still applies for the virus variant countries.

The rules for children remain unchanged, so children under 12 can enter without these proofs and should follow the same rules as the adult accompanying them.

For non-EU citizens travelling for non-essential purposes, which would include for example many Brits hoping to visit family in Austria over the holiday season as well as ski tourists, entry will generally not be possible. 

Being listed as a virus variant country can also mean that travel options are reduced and many flights cancelled, so that even for people still allowed to enter Austria, this would become more difficult in practice.

READ ALSO: Increased sick leave forces Nordic airline SAS to cancel flights

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HEALTH

Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The World Health Organization's European office warned on Tuesday the risk of Covid-19 has not gone away, saying it was still responsible for nearly 1,000 deaths a week in the region. And the real figure may be much higher.

Covid-19 still causing 1,000 deaths a week in Europe, WHO warns

The global health body on May 5 announced that the Covid-19 pandemic was no longer deemed a “global health emergency.”

“Whilst it may not be a global public health emergency, however, Covid-19 has not gone away,” WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge told reporters.

The WHO’s European region comprises 53 countries, including several in central Asia.

“Close to 1,000 new Covid-19 deaths continue to occur across the region every week, and this is an underestimate due to a drop in countries regularly reporting Covid-19 deaths to WHO,” Kluge added, and urged authorities to ensure vaccination coverage of at least 70 percent for vulnerable groups.

Kluge also said estimates showed that one in 30, or some 36 million people, in the region had experienced so called “long Covid” in the last three years, which “remains a complex condition we still know very little about.”

“Unless we develop comprehensive diagnostics and treatment for long Covid, we will never truly recover from the pandemic,” Kluge said, encouraging more research in the area which he called an under-recognised condition.

Most countries in Europe have dropped all Covid safety restrictions but some face mask rules remain in place in certain countries in places like hospitals.

Although Spain announced this week that face masks will no longer be required in certain healthcare settings, including hospitals and pharmacies, with a couple of exceptions.

Sweden will from July 1st remove some of its remaining Covid recommendations for the public, including advice to stay home and avoid close contact with others if you’re ill or have Covid symptoms.

The health body also urged vigilance in the face of a resurgence of mpox, having recorded 22 new cases across the region in May, and the health impact of heat waves.

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