German Chancellor Merkel wants tougher lockdown sooner

According to an “Bild” report, German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to discuss tougher coronavirus measures with the prime ministers even before January 25. A significant tightening of the lockdown is to be discussed, which could also lead to a suspension of local and long-distance public transport. Such a measure has not been decided, however. The reason for the pressure for further restrictions is the fear of a spread of highly contagious coronavirus mutations. The lockdown measures have so far been in effect until the end of January. However, according to…

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Decision on lockdown opening at the weekend

This weekend, the government will decide how to proceed with the lockdown, i.e. which opening steps should take place from January 25. Tomorrow there will still be talks with the provincial governors and social partners. However, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) put the brakes on overly high expectations in an interview with the APA yesterday: The situation is a “highly volatile” one, one must continue to “proceed extremely cautiously,” he said. Currently, Austria has around 2,000 new infections per day, and the 7-day incidence is around 150, putting it in the…

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All those entering Austria must register online in advance

Austria is about to extend the lockdown. But a strict Corona measure will come into force as early as January 15. The federal government plans to decide this weekend how to proceed with the lockdown in Austria. The current lockdown is still valid until January 24, but could be extended due to the still high infection figures. In any case, the opening steps from January 25 onwards are shaky. But before the government decides on a possible extension of the lockdown in the country, a strict Corona rule will come…

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All those entering Austria must register in advance as of Friday

From Friday, all those entering Austria must register online in advance. This also applies to Austrians. The current quarantine obligation remains in place until further notice, with free testing possible after five days at the earliest. Exceptions to both the quarantine and registration requirements continue to apply to commuters, transients and people entering the country for urgent family matters that cannot be postponed, such as funerals. The only countries exempted from the quarantine requirement, but not from the registration requirement, are Australia, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore,…

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First major vaccination campaign starts in Vienna

The first major vaccination campaign against the coronavirus will start in Vienna on Friday. Around 11,000 people are expected to receive their first jab over the next four days at Messe Wien. The majority of these doses are reserved for physicians in private practice and their staff. But also personnel of emergency services and mobile care as well as some midwives will be immunized at the total of 14 vaccination lines. There had been great interest among the target groups in the appointments to be made in advance. For example,…

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600,000 people to be vaccinated in Austria by end of March

According to the Austrian Press Agency Health Minister Rudolf Anschober announced that vaccinations against the coronavirus for “about 600,000 people” will be accomplished in Austria in the first quarter. So far, 180,000 doses from Biontech/Pfizer and 10,000 from Moderna have been delivered to Austria, he reported during a local inspection at a nursing home in Klosterneuburg. By the end of the quarter, nearly 1.2 million vaccine doses from the two manufacturers are to be delivered. Anschober said that “large orders” had also been placed for the vaccine from AstraZeneca, which…

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Telegram gains 25 million users within 3 days

With around 500 million monthly active users, Telegram is moving closer to its US competitor WhatsApp. The messenger service Telegram has gained around 25 million new users within 72 hours. As Russian app founder Pavel Durov announced on Tuesday, the platform currently has around 500 million monthly active users. This brings Telegram closer to its US competitor WhatsApp. The surge in Telegram downloads came shortly after WhatsApp introduced new privacy terms. The new rules allow more data to be shared with parent company Facebook. The changes have drawn criticism because…

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Vatican confirms vaccination of Francis and Benedict XVI.

Vatican City, Jan 14, 2021 – The Vatican has confirmed the Corona vaccinations of Pope Francis and his 93-year-old predecessor Benedict XVI. The two were administered the first dose as part of the vaccination campaign launched in the Vatican City State, Press Office chief Matteo Bruni announced (Thursday). Earlier, two media had reported that the 84-year-old head of the Church had received the immunization on Wednesday. For privacy reasons, there were no photos of Francis’ immunization, the media reports said. In a TV interview Sunday night, the pope had promoted…

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Church services suspended for another week

Minister of Culture extends agreement with all 16 religious societies – regulation is analogous to the lockdown currently in effectThe churches and religious societies, in consultation with Minister of Culture Susanne Raab, have extended the Corona agreement currently in force: analogous to the generally applicable lockdown, public religious services will be suspended until the end of next week for the time being. How it continues after that, will be agreed according to the then valid new general regulations, announced the Ministry to Kathpress on Thursday. As is already the case,…

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