Longer quarantines in seven Austrian regions

14-day quarantine will be implemented from Wednesday

Seven federal states in Austria have decided to extend the quarantine period for people infected with SARS-Cov-2 from 10 to 14 days. The regions of Vienna, Burgenland, Salzburg, Carinthia, Styria, Lower and Upper Austria decided on Sunday and Monday to take new measures in response to the new mutations that have already reached some of the regions in Austria.

New rules from Wednesday

The new measures are due to take effect on Wednesday, 10 March, and initially are planned to continue until 28 March.

For those who have been in contact with an infected person but are asymptomatic, quarantine may end with a negative PCR test. This is allowed only after the tenth day of the quarantine has passed because there is still a risk of infection. The news was announced by the Vienna City Councilor for Health Peter Hacker (SPÖ).

For people who have shown symptoms of the virus, the quarantine can end prematurely but only after 48 hours of improvement of the symptoms and a negative PCR test. These new measures also apply to people who are infected with the already known versions of Covid-19.

The main uncertainties are regarding the new British and Brazilian mutations, which are more contagious than the previous ones. In Burgenland, for example, 88% of the new infections are confirmed to be with the British coronavirus.

Vorarlberg, the westernmost region of Austria, has one of the lowest infection rates in the country with about 12 new daily cases. However, the Austrian federal government has issued a travel ban for Tyrol and unnecessary travels are not recommended.

Regarding international flights, there is still a landing ban for flights from the UK, South Africa, and Brazil. It has been extended until 21 March.