Students are now back at school throughout Austria, immersed in the initial three-week safety phase that will help education authorities to adapt to the ever-changing situation.

Around 650,000 school students in Tyrol, Styria, Vorarlberg, Salzburg, Upper Austria and Carinthia have entered the three-week phase, during which time they’ll receive three coronavirus tests each week, one of them being a PCR test.

Austria’s government is aiming to utilise the safety phase to assess the risks of children spreading the virus, in addition to adopting a prudent approach to decide the best course of action going forward.

The new school term started last week in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, with the safety phase causing massive disruption as some 450 children tested positive and 120 entire classes were forced to be quarantined just in Vienna.

Austria’s Minister of Education Heinz Faßmann stated he was in favour of undertaking a more measured response rather than quarantining entire classes. He added that only children who had been sitting next to those who tested positive should have to quarantine.

The Education Minister is currently assessing the situation and a decision is due to be announced later this week.

The Covid measures adopted in schools throughout the country are focused on the notion of permitting students to not have to wear masks during class. However, they are required to wear masks when leaving the classroom.

Parents who wish to accompany their child to the classroom are required to present a valid 3-G certificate and wear a mask inside the school. The 3-G certificate is a Covid pass, standing for geimpft (vaccinated), genesen (recovered) and getestet (tested).