(Credit: Peter Mayr)

The Wiener Staatsoper has announced that the rules for entry have been changed, and will affect all theaters in the City of Vienna.

The 2G COVID-19 rule that has been in place since Nov. 8, 2021, has been replaced with the 2G+ rule, meaning that even vaccinated and recovered visitors will have to test negative via a PCR test in order to attend performances. The test must be no older than 48 hours.

The rule also applies for the visitors who have received a booster shot of a coronavirus vaccine. Austria is only using Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for its booster vaccination campaign.

The change comes on the heels of continued measures to combat the spread of COVID-19.  The Austrian government decided to impose strict nationwide lockdown for all of its citizens who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus. The country reported 11,975 new coronavirus cases on Nov. 11, 2021, which is a pandemic record. About 65 percent of Austria’s population is fully vaccinated against coronavirus.