Author: admin

New rules for meetings: Amendment passes committee

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Vienna, March 19, 2021 – With votes from the governing ÖVP and Green parties, the latest planned amendment to the Epidemic and Covid 19 Measures Act passed the National Council’s health committee yesterday. According to parliamentary correspondence, the amendment includes stricter regulatory options for meetings, for tests and regulates “vaccination privileges.” There were more than 35,000 comments on the original version, and now an amended version has been sent to the plenary. Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens) said according to the parliamentary information, the review process had provided valuable feedback,…

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WhatsApp no longer works on old iPhones

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Messenger drops support for iOS 9 with latest update. Owners of old iPhones will soon have to do without Messenger WhatsApp. From version 2.21.50 of WhatsApp, iOS 10 or higher is a mandatory requirement. This means that the messenger says goodbye to the iPhone 4s, which cannot be upgraded to iOS 10. All those who still use such an old iPhone will therefore no longer be able to use the app. About supported operating systems We provide support for and recommend using the following devices: Android running OS 4.0.3 and…

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After EMA decision: Austria continues vaccination with AstraZeneca

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AstraZeneca’s Corona vaccine is safe, according to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), so Austria also plans to continue its vaccination program unchanged. But a warning about rare blood clots (thromboses) in cerebral veins will be included among the possible side effects, the authority said Thursday in Amsterdam. The benefits would outweigh the drawbacks, EMA Director Emer Cooke said, adding that the drug is “safe and effective” against Covid-19. Austria’s National Vaccination Panel concurred. “Following the assessment of the EMA, it is recommended to continue the vaccination program unchanged,” it said…

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Hungary reports third wave with record numbers

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The third wave of Corona has led to a record increase in Corona victims in Hungary. According to official figures, 207 people died in connection with the virus in the past 24 hours, and 6,502 new infections were registered. A tighter lockdown had already been imposed from March 8-22. Prime Minister Viktor Orban planned to inform the state radio on Friday about further measures and possible gradual relaxations. This was stated by Chancellery Minister Gergely Gulyas at a press conference in Budapest on Thursday. According to the politician, the peak…

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Austria recorded 3,357 new infections

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Within 24 hours, 3,357 positive tests have been registered in Austria, the health and interior ministries reported Thursday. Compared to Thursday of last week, that’s up by 829 cases. With minus 37, the number of hospitalized fell slightly to 1,814, also that of patients in intensive care units fell by 14 to 386. 8,982 people have died of or with Corona since the outbreak of the pandemic. From Wednesday to Thursday, 26 new deaths have been added. Meanwhile, 100.9 people per 100,000 population have died in Austria in connection with…

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Availability of free Corona self-tests in pharmacies ‘tends to be better’

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Since early March, pharmacies have been offering five free coronavirus self-tests per person per month. The problem, however, is that the tests were out of stock shortly after the promotion started. Even now, they are still hard to come by due to supply issues. But “things are tending to get better,” according to a spokesman for the Austrian Chamber of Pharmacists. Fix seems to be that there should be 3,600 tests this week for each of the 1,400 pharmacies in Austria. The delivery problems and associated delays last week were…

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France: As many new cases as in November; Slovakia extends state of emergency

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France has recorded more than 38,500 new infections with coronavirus within 24 hours – the most in almost four months. The French health authority reported 38,501 new infections in the evening. That was the highest figure in the country of nearly 67 million people since November. The number of deaths increased by 246 to 91,427, and the number of coronavirus patients in intensive care units fell slightly to 4,219. In view of the overcrowding in many French hospitals, the head of the government, Jean Castex, plans to make a statement…

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UN: Weather influence on virus not proven

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The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns against using the approaching spring and higher temperatures as an argument for relaxing coronavirus measures. There is no evidence that weather and season directly influence the incidence of infection, a team of experts holds. It has looked into the question of what influence meteorological factors and air quality have on the pandemic. The incidence of infection changes primarily as a result of protective measures, such as wearing masks and restricting travel, as well as behavioral changes. Viral infections of the respiratory tract are often…

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Chancellor Sebastian Kurz: “Vaccination for everyone in Austria by summer”.

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Last Friday, Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) talked about the distribution of vaccinations in the EU. Individual states would get much more vaccine than others, although this had been pact between the heads of government exactly the other way around. The chancellor said that it had been decided to distribute the vaccine according to the population key, so Austria should have received about two percent of all doses delivered to the EU. In fact, individual countries such as Malta have so far received much more vaccine, others such as Bulgaria…

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