Austria is getting to grips with the coronavirus pandemic. Now the government of Sebastian Kurz wants to open the borders to Germany in mid-June. A ski area is already planning to open it. The news ticker.
- Corona virus in Austria : The government of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) is banking on increasing easing in the corona crisis * .
- On June 15, the borders with Germany are to be opened again.
- Here you will find the basic facts about the corona virus * and the corona news from Germany. You can also find current case numbers in Germany here as a map *. The following recommendations for corona protective measures * are currently available .
Update from May 13, 3:41 p.m .: There is a very good news from the winter sports stronghold of Ischgl . The criticism in recent weeks as Corona hotspot location is back corona free . As can be seen from a collection of information from the State of Tyrol, there is currently no active case of lung disease Covid-19 in the small community . In the other communities in the Paznaun Valley, too, there are hardly any sick people.
Update from May 13, 3:07 p.m .: Get it! The city of Vienna donates a voucher for visits to restaurants of up to 50 euros to all 950,000 households. That was announced by Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ). Single-person households receive a voucher of 25 euros, multi-person households receive a 50-euro voucher. This can be redeemed in all participating restaurants and coffee houses by the end of September. There is one downside: alcoholic drinks cannot be paid with tax money.
The Austrian capital, where the election will take place in October, will cost the campaign 40 million euros . "Yes, we can afford it," said Ludwig. After all, it is about the future of 6500 taverns with around 60,000 employees .
From mid-June we will start a campaign that all Viennese households receive a voucher to visit Viennese gastronomy. (25 euros for one-person household, 50 euros for multi-person household)
- Michael Ludwig (@BgmLudwig) May 13, 2020Corona virus in Austria: first ski area in Tyrol wants to unlock again - date has already been fixed
Update from May 13, 12:26 p.m .: Although tourism in Austrian ski areas is said to have made a significant contribution to the spread of corona viruses within Europe, the first ski area in Tyrol has already announced an appointment for the commissioning of lifts and restaurants. The official website of the ski area on the Hintertux Glacier states that the reopening is scheduled for May 29 .
Despite the corona crisis in Austria: Tyrolean ski resort wants to open again on May 29th
"The highest priority of our actions has the health and safety of everyone", is emphasized on the website. "For May 29th we are planning to restart the lifts , our gastronomy on the mountain and the most popular excursion destinations on the Hintertux Glacier", it continues. In line with the reopening, the glacier is currently showing its most beautiful side. 3.4 meters of snow await all passionate winter sports enthusiasts. Detailed information on operating times and open slopes would follow by the end of this week.
Update of May 13, 11:55: After already on Wednesday morning reported an Austrian news agency that the borders with Germany on June 15 opened again to be, the Austrian has Tourism Minister Elisabeth Köstinger this information in the radio station Ö1 confirmed . Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) and Chancellor Angela Merkel have agreed, Köstinger told the radio station.
Corona crisis in Austria: Tourism Minister confirms border opening on June 15
According to her, the first step is to make it easier for family visits to the neighboring country as of next Friday . Köstinger further reported that Merkel and Kurz had agreed on Tuesday "to open the border in two stages ". The border closure imposed by Germany in mid-March should therefore be relaxed from May 15. A month later, from June 15th, "Border openings between Germany and Austria should be possible again," announced the minister. However, low infection numbers are still a prerequisite for this.
In the meantime, Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer (CSU) has also commented on the situation at the German borders. Accordingly, the Federal Ministry of the Interior is aiming for a complete end to the border controls introduced due to the corona pandemic by June 15 . "It is in the highest sense in the European spirit when neighboring countries decide together in the face of the pandemic," said Seehofer at a press conference on Wednesday.
Corona crisis in Austria: Kurz plans to open the German border on June 15
Update from May 13, 8:00 a.m .: According to a report by the Austrian news agency APA, the border between Germany and Austria, which was closed due to the corona pandemic, is to be fully reopened on June 15. As of next Friday, there will only be random checks at the borders, the Chancellery in Vienna confirmed on Wednesday at the APA.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) had telephoned German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday . The Federal Government plans to discuss further steps at its meeting this Wednesday.
Update from May 13, 6:36 am: For party tourism in Ischgl and Co. , things will look very bad in the future because of the ongoing corona crisis , but at least as far as opening the borders is concerned, Austria is optimistic . The government there, like politicians in Switzerland, expects a breakthrough in the debate about opening the borders in a timely manner.
Corona crisis in Austria: Chancellor Kurz is optimistic when the border is opened
“We are in a very good exchange with the Swiss government . It is our goal that we can agree on significant easing in the next few days and completely end border controls in June , ”said Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) to Swiss television SRF on Tuesday. Talks with Germany would also go well, he added. Compared to Austria and Switzerland, however, Bavaria brakes according to the 33-year-old.
Update from May 12, 8:30 p.m .: These statements should make many winter sports fans in Germany pay attention. Governor Günther Platter (ÖVP) has announced drastic changes in the direction of Tyrolean tourism after the Ischgl debacle in the Corona crisis .
The Austrian state obviously wants to do something about its party image - and therefore focus more on nature and relaxation.
Corona crisis in Austria: Tyrol wants to change tourism after the Ischgl debacle
“It is now crucial that we get tourism going again. There has been a national and international debate about tourism in Tyrol , "Platter explained at a press conference:" Of course there are undesirable developments, there are irritating images. "
“Irritating images” presumably mean sequences of wildly celebrating guests in Ischgl . The small community with its 1,600 inhabitants has long been considered a party mecca in the Alps - but that should be the end now.
Deserted: the Tyrolean Ischgl in April 2020.
© AFP / JOHANN GRODER
He was critical of the fact that day tourists "come (by bus) to the ski areas where you don't go skiing, but only go partying," said the ÖVP politician: "We don't need this area in our tourism". Instead, one now has to “respond to developments where corrections are needed”. New accents were needed, he explained, "a rivalry between the population and tourism".
According to krone.at, the Management Center Innsbruck (MCI) was therefore instructed to develop a new concept for tourism in Tyrol. In addition to Ischgl, Sölden in the Ötztal and St. Anton am Arlberg are party strongholds, not just for skiers.
Ischgl is considered a super spreader in the corona crisis , among other things, a number of tourists from Germany and Iceland are said to have contracted the party with the pathogen Sars-CoV-2 and then carried the virus to their home countries. Platter: "We have to avoid irritating images."
Corona crisis in Austria: discussions around the epidemic law
Update of May 12, 20 h: Even Austria's southern neighbor gets the coronavirus pandemic slowly under control.
But Italy is now seeing drastic economic consequences from the Corona crisis - including immense public debt.
Update from May 12, 12:05 p.m .: According to two experts, companies in Tyrol are entitled to compensation under the Epidemic Act . Tyrol's tourism businesses were closed in mid-March due to the spread of the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus .
This was done on the basis of the Epidemic Act and this also provides for compensation. However, the Corona regulations issued by the authorities are not. This reports the oe24.at.
The epidemic ordinances of March 13, dormant on the basis of the Epidemic Act, were repealed by the state of Tyrol on March 26 and in turn replaced by ordinances based on the Corona laws.
The Viennese lawyer Peter Sander spoke to the "Tiroler Tageszeitung" and said that the attempt to undo the epidemic law was "highly unconstitutional". This was also followed by the constitutional and administrative law professor at the University of Vienna Daniel Ennöckl . Sander therefore assumes that a claim for compensation applies "for the period from March 13 or March 16 to March 26".
Coronavirus in Austria: "Regulations based on this law are not affected"
Furthermore, there is a note in the corona laws that the epidemic law remains unaffected. "This does not affect the regulations that are based on this law," said Sander.
According to Sander, claims for compensation could even apply until May 15, as there was a risk of infection with the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus up to this date in taverns. Ennöckl contributed to this that, in his opinion, a company closure under the Epidemic Act can only be lifted if the company no longer poses a risk to the coronavirus.
This debate could also play a role for Salzburg, Carinthia and Vorarlberg. Similar regulations have been issued here.
Corona virus in Austria: government Kurz wants to act against "war profiteers"
First report from May 11th: In mid-April, at the height of the Corona crisis , more than 600,000 Austrians were on short-time work . For the comparatively small EU country with its nine million inhabitants, this was a high number of workers and salaried workers who received their salaries from the state in this phase.
As in Germany, the coronavirus pandemic in Austria has a major political concern: the abuse of this short-time working model.
The Finance Minister of the Alpine Republic, Gernot Blümel from the ÖVP, has now announced tough action against tax evaders in the Corona crisis . According to the Kleiner Zeitung from Graz , around 350 financial police officers nationwide checked a total of 5,119 people in 1,946 companies at 1,205 locations.
According to Blümel, 460 violations, i.e. violations, were found. A complaint was filed against 31 people. They now face severe penalties for violations of the Wage and Social Dumping Control Act.
Corona crisis in Austria: Clear words from Finance Minister Gernot Blümel
For example, three construction workers whose company had registered short-time work were found on a construction site in the Waldviertel in Lower Austria. According to the Kronen Zeitung, Finance Minister Blümel has therefore announced that he will take action against "war profiteers".
Masks on: Werner Kogler (The Greens, left), Vice Chancellor of Austria, and Gernot Blümel (ÖVP), Minister of Finance of Austria.
© dpa / Hans Punz
"I have no understanding that certain people make a basket with tax money in the crisis," said the minister, and nevertheless praised short-time work as a "very effective model" in the Corona crisis .
Corona pandemic in Austria: government briefly passes “inn package”
At the same time, the Austrian government presented Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) a € 500 million “inn package” on Monday to support the particularly hard-hit catering industry due to the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic .
In this way, the government wants to cover part of the fixed costs for restaurants, taverns and pubs. In addition, as Blümel explained, innkeepers should “pay up to two thirds less tax”.
The German virologist Christian Drosten warns of dangerous half-knowledge in the corona crisis and makes a suggestion for restaurants without an outside area.
* Merkur.de is part of the Germany-wide Ippen-Digital editors network
