Category: Austrian News

The COVID-19 virus is back. Since the summer, however, its status as a notifiable disease has disappeared. This also implied the elimination of the rationale behind the governmental regulations that, for three years, turned life upside down with distance restrictions, mandatory masks, and lockdowns. Officially, COVID-19 is now comparable to the seasonal flu. As with influenza, how much every individual still protects themselves in the fall and winter is now up to their discretion. The current wave movementTwo weeks ago, 183 people nationwide had to be hospitalized with COVID-19, but…

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For the most part, September is ending on a late summer note. The upcoming days are expected to be mostly sunny with rising temperatures, according to Geosphere Austria. This is a result of its high Balkan-centered center and eastern Alps-facing edges. Monday’s weather will be dominated by low-pressure differences and light winds, which will favor the persistence of fog and high fog in basins and valleys. High fog cloud cover will persist regionally into the afternoon in the east. Outside the fog zones, it is consistently sunny and mild. Early…

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Two hundred euros will be paid out per household. But the registration deadline has expired. After the course of inflation, housing costs climbed steadily upward in the past few months. In March, the city of Vienna decided on a 5-point program. This package of measures includes credits for municipal housing residents (“Gemeindebau-Bonus”) as well as the so-called “Wiener Wohnbonus.” Two hundred euros are paid out per household. But anyone who has not yet registered for it should hurry. Because the registration period is entering the home stretch! According to “Heute,”…

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Starting Monday, September 25, the nationwide repair bonus from the Ministry of Climate Change can be claimed again. The bonus is now resuming after a summer break with tightened security after several fraud cases were exposed in June, in which businesses had faked repairs and pocketed the subsidy. The grant will now be paid directly to customers and will no longer be billed through repair stores. For this, however, customers have to pre-finance the repair and disclose the account to which the subsidy will be transferred when applying for the…

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Starting in 2024, there will be a new freeway vignette, especially for occasional drivers in Austria. In addition, the prices will be newly staggered. Ten days, two months, or a whole year—that’s how long the familiar freeway toll stickers are valid, which have been stuck to windshields in Austria since 1997 or can now be redeemed digitally. A completely new fourth vignette will now extend these three versions into 2024. The government put this on track in the Council of Ministers on Wednesday as part of an amendment to the…

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The warm, late summer weather is over for the next few days. In some places, even a red warning level has been declared. Today, Friday will be divided into two parts: From Vorarlberg to Upper Carinthia, clouds dominate, and heavy rain sometimes falls. Otherwise, it will initially remain dry, and the sun will still shine frequently, especially in the east and southeast. In the afternoon, the rain will also spread to the north; in the northeast, isolated showers or thunderstorms will pass through. In the southeast, the wind will blow…

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Since school started, it’s been hard to miss: More children and adults are getting sick. The COVID-19-based monitoring numbers are already rising, and an intense flu season could be on the horizon, too. You can protect yourself with vaccinations. But when is the right time for which vaccination? Regardless of the individual’s prior immunizations, only one coronavirus vaccination is advised this year. Appointments can already be booked online and by phone, says Katharina Reich, Director General for Public Health, in an interview with Ö1, adding that the vaccine delivery has…

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According to the Climate Protection Ministry, a “second chance for electrical appliances” should be the repair bonus, And the repair bonus is now also getting a second chance. After accumulating fraud cases, the campaign was paused in the summer. As of September 25, it will continue with an “additional safety net,” according to the ministry. Up to 50% of the repair costs for damaged electrical appliances, including smartphones, toasters, televisions, and lawnmowers, are covered by the repair bonus. The maximum funding amount per repair is 200 euros. People residing in…

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For COVID-19, 38 people were hospitalized in Austria in the middle of July; however, the data are incomplete. In the week ending September 10, 183 people were hospitalized. A new wave of COVID is therefore building up, as also shown by the data from wastewater monitoring. The virus load measured in wastewater from sewage treatment plants corresponds to April. Since Monday, the new COVID-19 vaccine has also been available at the first vaccination sites. In the next few days or at the beginning of next week, all doctors who will…

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