Austria places expiry date on vaccination validity

As of Monday (8 November), Jabs are now only valid for nine months, instead of 12, after the second dose is administered. A booster jab will then be required to enter restaurants, bars and entertainment spaces.

Consumer services that involve close personal contact, such as hairdressing and beauty treatments, as well as organised gatherings of more than 25 people, will also require evidence of full vaccination or recovery.

Face masks will be required in retail venues, museums and libraries. Children up to the age of 12 are currently exempt from entry rules.

Lisa Weddig, managing director of the Austrian National Tourist Office, said the country will enter the winter season with a "great sense of responsibility" with "strict, clear, and predictable" regulations.

"The tourism industry is well prepared for the implementation," she continued.

"It is clear that those who are vaccinated will continue to feel hardly any restrictions, and that will also apply to tourism and our winter guests from abroad, of course."