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Travel rules update: Unvaccinated people can now enter Austria

Austria has relaxed its entry rules, meaning that all foreign travellers who meet the 3G criteria (vaccinated, recently recovered, or tested negative) can cross the border without needing to quarantine.

Published: 19 February 2022 15:26 CET
Updated: 22 February 2022 11:43 CET
car driving through road in Austria
Vienna receives aoround 300,000 commuters daily, many of them drive to the Austrian capital (Photo by Christof STACHE / AFP)

The rules came into effect from February 22nd.

The 3G rules replace the previous 2G+ rule which meant travellers need to show either proof of vaccination or recovery as well as either proof of a booster or a negative test in order to avoid an automatic ten-day quarantine.

Unvaccinated people were previously only able to enter if they fell into specific categories, including Austrian citizens and residents, and they then often needed to quarantine.

Commuters and children under 12 have been exempt from the rules.

Under the new regime, travellers can show a negative PCR test that has been taken in the past 72 hours or an antigen test that is no more than 24 hours old as an alternative to vaccination or recovery.

Stricter rules will remain in place for people arriving from countries classified as being ‘areas of variant concern.’ People arriving from such countries will still have to go into quarantine.

No country is currently classified as an area with a variant of concern.

SEE ALSO: When will the Novavax vaccine be available in Austria?

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TRAVEL NEWS

Austria to monitor wastewater of flights from China

Austria will start monitoring wastewater from aircraft from China and in top Chinese tourist attractions as Europe mulls restrictions for those from the Covid-19 hit country, the government said Tuesday.

Published: 4 January 2023 10:27 CET
Austria to monitor wastewater of flights from China

As Beijing has decided to lift its “zero Covid” policy, the European Union fears a sudden influx of passengers from China could bring Covid variants that may be able to evade current vaccines.

“Starting next week, Austria will examine samples from the wastewater from aircraft from China,” Austria’s health ministry said in a statement.

It added wastewater from the sewage plant of the picturesque village of Hallstatt — a top Chinese tourist destination — would also be analysed.

READ ALSO: Is the EU likely to reinstate Covid travel restrictions?

This is in addition to wastewater in the cities of Vienna and Salzburg, which is already being monitored as part of a national programme launched at the beginning of last year.

“With this, some places frequently visited by tourists from China are regularly examined,” the ministry said.

“This makes it possible to discover new virus variants, even if visitors from China have not entered the country with direct flights.”

The European Commission said on Tuesday that an “overwhelming majority” of the EU’s 27 member countries wanted passengers coming from China to be systematically tested for Covid before departure.

READ ALSO: Long Covid: What support is available in Austria?

The consensus recommendation emerged from a meeting of EU health ministry officials held Tuesday in Brussels.

A crisis meeting to be held Wednesday on the issue will decide what coordinated measures will be applied across the bloc.

EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said the officials also agreed to recommend stepped-up monitoring of wastewater from flights and at airports to detect traces of Covid, and for member states to boost surveillance.

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