Austria to Permit Travel From EU/Schengen Countries and Epidemiologically Safe Third-Countries From May 19

Austria’s authorities have announced their plans to reopen and ease their imposed COVID-19 preventive measures starting from May 19 in an effort to help the country recover from the devastating situation caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement has been confirmed by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, adding that other sectors such as tourism, sports and restaurants will also resume their work, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.

However, entry requirements will be put in place to prevent an upsurge in the number of COVID-19 infections.

“The light at the end of the tunnel is near,” Kurz pointed out in a press conference while unfolding the country’s opening plans for May.

According to statistics published by Worldometers, a total of 612,170 persons have tested positive for the Coronavirus disease, in Austria, up to this point, while 10,126 persons have died.

Austria is the 37th most infected country worldwide. More than 577,970 persons have fully recovered from the virus in this country, while there are 24,067 active cases.

Such figures pushed Austria’s government to tighten its preventive measures in order to keep the COVID-19 situation under control.

Austria’s Current Entry Restrictions

Currently, the country remains under lockdown, permitting only essential travel, while some industries such as tourism are frozen.

The majority of arrivals are obliged to stay self-isolated for ten days upon their arrival and additionally show a negative result of the Coronavirus test. All persons wishing to enter Austria are required to register digitally in advance to obtain the “pre-travel clearance” form.

According to authorities in Austria, travellers planning to enter the country from Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, South Korea, Singapore will be eligible to do so without following additional rules such as quarantine or prove that they have tested negative for the COVID-19 disease as these territories are considered safe.

Except for the countries mentioned above, all other countries worldwide are considered risk areas based on their COVID-19 situation, which means that citizens of other countries worldwide must follow test and quarantine requirements.

However, citizens who need to travel for business purposes or other emergency cases will be exempted from quarantine rules.

“After five days of quarantine at the earliest, you can get a PCR or antigen test. If the test is negative, you do not need to quarantine further. You may leave quarantine for the express purpose of getting tested. You will have to pay for your test,” the statement published by authorities in Austria reveals.

Flights from countries profoundly affected by the virus, such as Brazil and South Africa, are still banned.

Austria’s Entry Restrictions From May 19

Starting from May 19, entry rules will be introduced based on the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) maps regarding the COVID-19 situation in other countries.

Citizens of countries included in the green and orange category will not be subject to entry restrictions when planning to enter Austria.

Persons coming from countries included in the red list will be obliged to present a negative result of the Coronavirus test and prove that they have fully recovered from the disease.

As for the citizens of countries included in the dark red, they will be required to prove that they have tested negative for the COVID-19 or that they have fully recovered from the disease.

In addition, persons coming from countries included in this group must follow quarantine rules upon their arrival.