Slovakia requires test before entry from November 15th

Starting November 15, anyone wishing to enter Slovakia will have to prove a negative CoV test or take a quick test directly at the border. Health Minister Marek Krajci said this today in an interview with the TV news channel TA3. Contrary to what was previously announced, however, the regulation will not come into force until November 15. Until then, test stations are to be set up at all major border crossings, some smaller ones will be closed. Government sticks to second round of testingKrajci confirmed that the government is…

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COVID 19 Vaccine: 200 million euros for eight million people

The Ministry of Health is currently developing a Covid 19 vaccination strategy. This was announced by Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens) in the course of answering a question to the NEOS parliamentary group. A total budget of 200 million euros has been defined for the procurement of “Covid-19 vaccines for 8 million people in Austria”. In principle, it was determined that all persons living in Austria “can be vaccinated voluntarily”. The goal is to provide a sufficient quantity of vaccine for this number of people – “regardless of whether one or…

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Wreath-laying in the area of the crime scene

Official representatives of the republic had already commemorated the victims of the terrorist attack by laying wreaths. Four victims and the assassin were killed in an attack on Monday evening. Several injured are still in critical condition. Federal President Van der Bellen spoke earlier of a “dark night that we have behind us”. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Wolfgang Sobotka laid wreaths on Vienna’s Schwedenplatz, the starting point of the terrorist attack. Also the club representatives of the parliamentary parties, the Mayor of Vienna Ludwig…

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Attack in Vienna: Mourning service in St. Stephen’s Cathedral

A mourning service for the victims of the terrorist attack took place Tuesday evening in Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn conducted the service, representatives of the other Christian churches in the country as well as of Islam and Judaism took part. On the political side, representatives included Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, President of the National Council Wolfgang Sobotka (both ÖVP) and Vienna’s Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ). The few mourners, among them several ministers, sat in the middle of the cathedral, on the…

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4182 new infections on the first lockdown day – Lower Austria not counted

On Tuesday, the number of corona patients in hospital increased by almost 300. No numbers have been reported from Lower Austria so far. On the first day of the second corona lockdown, only preliminary Austrian figures were available from the authorities until Tuesday afternoon. Within 24 hours 4182 new infections were reported. However, the figures from Lower Austria were not included, as they could not yet be reported for technical reasons, according to the Ministry of Health. The majority of the cases concerned Upper Austria with 1,098 new infections, in…

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Schönborn: “Hate must not be the answer to this blind hatred.”

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn addressed the population with an appeal not to respond to violence and hatred with panic or even new hatred. “To this blind hatred, hatred must not be an answer,” he said on Tuesday morning, November 3, 2020, in an ORF interview on Vienna’s Stephansplatz. “You will not get our hatred”“Hate only stirs up new hatred” – and this is just as much the wrong way to react to the terrible events of the night as to panic, “for he who panics is always in danger of carrying…

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Germany and Italy control at the border with Austria

After the attack in Vienna, the German police controlled the German-Austrian border with increased vigilance. “Our forces have been sensitized accordingly,” a spokesman said in Potsdam today. The control of the border is now a “tactical focus”. The border officials paid close attention to whether there were any conspicuous features “from the appropriate spectrum”. After the terrorist attack in Vienna, Italy is also tightening security controls at the border crossings to Austria, starting with the Brenner Pass on the border between Tyrol and South Tyrol. The military of the Italian…

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No indications of second perpetrator after attack in Vienna

After the Islamist terrorist attack in downtown Vienna on Tuesday, there were no indications of a second perpetrator for the time being. This was said by Minister of the Interior Karl Nehammer at a press conference in the afternoon. Four people and the perpetrator were killed, a total of 22 other people were injured. In the vicinity of the perpetrator, 18 house searches were carried out in Vienna and Lower Austria, and 14 people were provisionally arrested. Nevertheless, an increased security alert was maintained. According to the Minister of the…

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Terror in Vienna: What people know about the assassin

The assassin who was shot by the police was 20 years old. He had previously been detained because he had tried to travel to Syria and join the IS. It took only nine minutes after the first emergency call to the police – then the assassin was already dead. Before he was shot by the police, the man – and suspected other perpetrators – caused a bloodbath in downtown Vienna. The police have meanwhile identified the assassin. The man (name known to the editorial staff) was 20 years old, had…

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