Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Austria - statistics & facts
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a pandemic. Following months of research and testing, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Commission greenlighted the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine on December 21, 2020.
Austria saw growing coronavirus (COVID-19) case numbers at the outbreak in March 2020, though it is no longer among the countries most affected by the virus, nor among those with the most coronavirus deaths recorded. Austria has nine states, all of which have been infected.
Like its German-speaking neighbors Germany and Switzerland, Austria also introduced a national lockdown in the spring of 2020 to prevent further spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) among the population. Large venues, cultural, retail, and entertainment establishments were closed, as were schools and universities. Travel restrictions were implemented to prevent coronavirus cases from being brought from abroad. Daily life changed for a large share of the Austrian population, with so-called social distancing becoming the norm. In 2021, 43 percent of the country considered the measures undertaken by the Austrian government to have a sense of proportion.
The vaccine is the most effective measure against the virus and has allowed many countries to lift protective measures. In Austria, the uptake of the vaccine was slower than in other countries and this meant that the government decided to make the vaccine mandatory on March 15, 2022. This decision was met with controversy and abolished on June 23, 2022. Now Austria has reopened, and life is similar to the way it was pre-pandemic because people have been vaccinated meaning there is less pressure on the health system. On February 1, 2023, the Austrian government announced that all COVID-19 protective measures and any special provisions will be phased out by June 30, 2023.
Austria saw growing coronavirus (COVID-19) case numbers at the outbreak in March 2020, though it is no longer among the countries most affected by the virus, nor among those with the most coronavirus deaths recorded. Austria has nine states, all of which have been infected.
Like its German-speaking neighbors Germany and Switzerland, Austria also introduced a national lockdown in the spring of 2020 to prevent further spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) among the population. Large venues, cultural, retail, and entertainment establishments were closed, as were schools and universities. Travel restrictions were implemented to prevent coronavirus cases from being brought from abroad. Daily life changed for a large share of the Austrian population, with so-called social distancing becoming the norm. In 2021, 43 percent of the country considered the measures undertaken by the Austrian government to have a sense of proportion.
The vaccine is the most effective measure against the virus and has allowed many countries to lift protective measures. In Austria, the uptake of the vaccine was slower than in other countries and this meant that the government decided to make the vaccine mandatory on March 15, 2022. This decision was met with controversy and abolished on June 23, 2022. Now Austria has reopened, and life is similar to the way it was pre-pandemic because people have been vaccinated meaning there is less pressure on the health system. On February 1, 2023, the Austrian government announced that all COVID-19 protective measures and any special provisions will be phased out by June 30, 2023.
