(Updated October 5th, 2022)
Unfortunately, I’m not qualified to offer you medical or specific travel advice. The below is simply my rough interpretation of the few remaining COVID restrictions of particular interest to visitors when in Vienna, but this is not a substitute for official information.
Be sure to get your COVID information from official websites (sample links below).
Vienna
The city is open and has been for a long while now. The authorities have lifted almost all restrictions: some mask requirements remain, as well as special rules applying to, for example, healthcare facilities and positive COVID cases.
The most common day-to-day issue for visitors in Vienna is whether you need to wear a mask.
Nationally, face masks (FFP2 grade) are currently obligatory only in vulnerable settings involving health or care services (such as hospitals).
In Vienna, however, you also need to wear an FFP2 mask when you go into a pharmacy and when using public transport (inside vehicles and also including enclosed areas at stations and stops).
(The Viennese authorities have indicated that for the time being their additional local requirements will remain in place until October 23rd. Though they may extend them beyond that, of course.)
As such, masks are no longer required by law when visiting concert halls, museums, restaurants, hotels, coffee houses, stores, opera houses, cinemas, and similar. (Though special rules apply if you test positive.)
Check official sources of information for the precise details and exceptions for mask wearing in general, as well as any other restrictions that may apply inside healthcare facilities or, for example, the specific rules should you test positive for COVID.
Note: on May 16th, Austria lifted all COVID-related travel restrictions for entering the country, though special requirements do remain in theory should any country find itself classified as a source of virus variants. So do a quick check just in case.
Note: on August 1st, Austria moved away from a compulsory full quarantine regime to allow people who test positive for COVID to be mobile under certain conditions (and subject to various mask and social distancing requirements as well as bans from particular kinds of locations such as health institutions).
Things may change in the future, so keep an eye on developments!
Sources of official info
Options include:
- Municipal government site: Vienna’s official info on COVID that also includes any local requirements (as a province, Vienna has the right to implement stricter rules than the national ones)
- Tourism office of the City of Vienna: useful information for travelers
These links are provided as a courtesy only, not an endorsement. Also be sure, of course, to check:
- Official event, service & location websites. Some may have their own COVID-related requirements or (more likely) recommendations
- Your government’s travel advisory pages, especially regarding any prevailing requirements concerning entry to Austria or your own country’s requirements when returning from Austria