Austria has imposed stricter restrictions on 16 third countries and the United States since 15 September
US citizens will no longer be allowed to enter Austria unless they present a certificate of vaccination or recovery from the disease, as the Austrian government has removed the country from the list of epidemiologically safe countries. From 15 September, the only US travelers allowed to enter Austria will be inoculated with COVID vaccines authorized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Furthermore, to be eligible, at least 14 days must have elapsed since the booster (for two-dose vaccines) and 22 days after the administration of the single-dose vaccine (Janssen). Thus, the shelf life of the two-dose vaccine is 360 days, while the single-dose vaccine is valid for 270 days after vaccination.
US citizens who have recovered from coronavirus infection will also be eligible to enter Austria, provided they can prove that they have recovered in the last 180 days, or if they test positive for COVID antibodies. -19 not older than 90 days. On the other hand, unvaccinated Americans are required to complete a registration form upon arrival, report a negative PCR test, and be quarantined for ten days.
Restrictions do not apply to vaccinated travelers.
The Austrian authorities recognize the molecular PCR test, which must not be performed more than 72 hours before arrival, and the (rapid) antigen tests, which must be performed no more than 48 hours before entering the country. Proof of the test result must include the full name of the passenger, the date of birth, the date and time of the test, the unique QR code and the signature of the authority responsible for the test.
With the exception of the US, trips subject to stricter measures from 15 September include Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Brunei, Israel, Japan, Kosovo, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Serbia and Thailand. Also, according to a press release issued by the Austrian Embassy in Washington, starting September 15, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Suriname and Zimbabwe will be considered as areas of interest, while Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Uruguay will be removed from this list.
These measures followed the European Commission's recommendation to ban US travelers to enter European countries due to the increase in the number of positive cases with coronavirus. This recommendation was adopted by several other countries before Austria, inclusive Italy, the first country to apply stricter measures for Americans.
Data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) show that 73.5% of the Austrian population is vaccinated with the first dose and 69.8% of the population is completely immunized against the virus. On the other hand, 54.4% of the American population is fully vaccinated and 63.8% of the population received the first dose of the vaccine.