Austria in lockdown

[steamboats]

So latest news is that Austria is opening up by Monday Dec 13th for the vaccinated. Shops and hotels are allowed to open (details pending), restaurants can open up to 11 pm, FFP2/KN95 masks indoors, cultural events up to 1.000 visitors when designated seating is available (and a few more rules which won´t affect tourists).

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

As of today, Austria is again a high risk country, as declared by the German authorities, that means travel between the two countries is further controlled. Here is how: https://www.austria.info/en/service-and-facts/coronavirus-information

 

As I have mentioned elsewhere - and see the link above - you are declared unvaccinated after the "expiry date" of your two vaccinations, i.e. need a booster.

 

Austria has some of the strictest rules for "unvaccinated" people so make sure you know this before embarking on your journey to your river cruise. From one day to the other you may otherwise feel like you have suddenly caught leprosy... One headline I read said "Austria is becoming a nightmare for the unvaccinated", referring to the country's citizens of course. But the mandate to come into effect on 1 February is met with harsh and occasionally violent criticism.

 

Hopefully, by the time the new river cruising season starts, the situation will have calmed down in my neighbouring country, to which I look with concern right now as Germany is also in a milder but nevertheless uncomfortable version of "un-calm".

 

How do river cruise companies see this? Will they possibly align with hospitality industry requirements and only take triple vaccinated people on board? It is staying interesting.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Austria is so far faring better than they had anticipated. Omicron is proving milder than expected for many countries. This is what Austria is planning according to the newspaper. From 5 February bars and restaurants are allowed to open until 12pm. On 12 February shops will be without the 2G (vaccinated or recovered) rule. From 19 February the hospitality industry and tourism go from 2G to 3G (vaccinated, recovered or tested). The Omicron wave is estimated to peak around 7 to 9 February.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/austria-begin-easing-coronavirus-restrictions-feb-5-2022-01-29/

 

notamermaid

 

[gnome12]

4 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Austria is so far faring better than they had anticipated. Omicron is proving milder than expected for many countries. This is what Austria is planning according to the newspaper. From 5 February bars and restaurants are allowed to open until 12pm. On 12 February shops will be without the 2G (vaccinated or recovered) rule. From 19 February the hospitality industry and tourism go from 2G to 3G (vaccinated, recovered or tested). The Omicron wave is estimated to peak around 7 to 9 February.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/austria-begin-easing-coronavirus-restrictions-feb-5-2022-01-29/

 

notamermaid

 

I hope you meant midnight which is defined as 12 am. We use 12 pm for noon, which of course makes no sense since since noon is neither before noon (am) nor after noon (pm) but that is the convention that we use, at least in North America; 12 am is midnight, and 12 pm is noon.

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, gnome12 said:

I hope you meant midnight which is defined as 12 am. We use 12 pm for noon, which of course makes no sense since since noon is neither before noon (am) nor after noon (pm) but that is the convention that we use, at least in North America; 12 am is midnight, and 12 pm is noon.

And even I, a lifelong North American in my 8th decade, still have to check when I see 12 am or 12 pm!  But it's less than my constant confusion over 24-hour times...

[Canal archive]

Love it! The same language but the different……………………

[notamermaid]

Yup, badly worded. Sorry. This is how confusion should be avoided, we are taught: https://www.npl.co.uk/resources/q-a/is-midnight-12am-or-12pm

 

Midnight is what I meant.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

A quick and hopefully last look at Austria before the country goes back to "full tourism mode". We all know that Omicron has given us a way out, so Austria has despite the inevitable spike in cases seen fewer hospitalizations, quite like in other countries in Europe. Here is a comparative graph - in which Germany is missing, the data is not available - for Austria and selected countries:

 

And here it is, the big news, huge fanfare: "no covid restrictions" in the country as of today! 🍾 Well not quite. https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/austria-lifts-all-domestic-covid-19-restrictions-on-march-5/

Here in German it says that Vienna will not go with easing of restrictions ("Nur Wien macht nicht mit.") for the time being and stick to 2G and FFP2 masks : https://www.dw.com/de/österreich-hebt-die-meisten-corona-beschränkungen-auf/a-61024051

 

if you need to know the situation for entry, check here: https://reopen.europa.eu/en

and of course with your cruise line.

 

notamermaid