420,000 trees waiting for Christmas

This year, 420,000 trees from Styrian Christmas tree farmers are expected to make children’s eyes light up. Before they make their grand appearance on Christmas Eve, they have to grow for an average of ten to fourteen years. The 350 or so Styrian Christmas tree farmers are starting the new sales season: they cut down around 420,000 Christmas trees every year for their big appearance on Christmas Eve. Next Monday, sales will begin in public places in Graz. According to the president of the Chamber of Agriculture, Franz Titschenbacher, about…

Read More

Many plan family reunions at Christmas

Doing without big family get-togethers at Christmas because of the coronavirus? For 18 percent of people in Austria, this is out of the question, just under 30 percent at least do not want to do without all meetings, as a survey has shown. In the survey by Marketagent.com, 20.4 percent said they would refrain from relatives’ gatherings altogether this time, and “on all of them.” Nearly 30 percent of 500 men and women between the ages of 14 and 75 who were representatively surveyed said, “I will forgo at least…

Read More

Three-step COVID vaccination strategy available online

The coronavirus vaccination strategy in Austria is available online today on the Ministry of Health website COVID-19-Impfung (sozialministerium.at). According to the graphic and a document dated Dec. 9, there will be three vaccination phases in 2021. The first phase will cover January and February 2021, and here vaccines will be available on a limited basis, according to the Ministry of Health. The target group for this phase will be residents of nursing and retirement homes, as well as healthcare workers and people with certain pre-existing conditions. New vaccination sites depending…

Read More

Registration in gastro comes, police may enter apartments

In the future, personal registrations can be done in the catering and hotel industry as well as in sports facilities, leisure and cultural facilities as well as hospitals and old people’s homes. An amendment to that effect is expected to be passed by the Austrian Parliament on Friday. The police will also be given the authority to check in homes for compliance with quarantine, for example. The reason given for the registrations is that this data could be necessary for tracing contacts. The rule is limited until the middle of…

Read More

2,686 new infections and 107 Corona deaths in 24 hours

Corona figures for Austria on Thursday: 2,686 new infections were registered again. In just one day, 107 people died from Corona. While our most important neighboring country, Germany, is aiming for a hard December lockdown, the situation in Austria continues to be stable. Within a day’s time, there have been 2,686 new infections with the virus throughout Austria. In addition, 107 people died as a result of the disease. The three-week lockdown therefore continues to have an impact, as predicted by experts, and so the trend is downward. Decisive for…

Read More

How many people have to be vaccinated

The approval of a Covid 19 vaccine is imminent: The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has announced that it will decide on the approval of the BioNTech/ Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for the EU on December 29 and January 12, respectively. But does the vaccination really bring the turning point in the pandemic? Experts talked about this in a background discussion. There will be no compulsory vaccination in Austria – Clemens Martin Auer, Covid Special Representative in the Ministry of Health, emphasized this once again. This also applies to people who…

Read More

Christmas in Europe: Where, what and which Corona rules apply

In the birthplace of Jesus, in Bethlehem, the lights on the Christmas tree in the manger square are on, as they are every year. Only the pilgrims are missing. Due to high infection rates, there is a curfew at night and on weekends. This year, only a handful of local Christians are also allowed to attend Mass at the Church of the Nativity. ItalyFrom December 21 to January 6, Italians are not allowed to leave their home region. Travel between Lombardy and Tuscany, for example, is prohibited. And anyone who…

Read More

Chancellor Kurz hopes for rapid vaccinations in Europe

Before the EU summit today, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) expressed his hope that vaccinations against coronavirus will soon be available in Europe. “The earlier we can start vaccinating in the EU, the better. Because every day of a pandemic in Europe currently means thousands of deaths, severe economic damage and countless people fearing for their jobs,” Kurz explained in a statement. Another topic of the two-day EU summit in Brussels will be an exchange on the current CoV situation. Kurz thanked EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for the…

Read More

Emergency in the Czech Republic before Christmas

In the Czech Republic, the parliament has approved an extension of the coronavirus emergency up to and including December 23. There were 53 members of parliament in Prague yesterday. The proposal to extend the state of emergency by 30 days until January 11 was not accepted by the minority government of Prime Minister Andrei Babis. The state of emergency allows the government to suspend basic rights such as freedom of assembly. Currently, up to ten people are allowed to meet indoors. There is an extensive obligation to wear masks. However,…

Read More