EU warns: risk of renewed COVID 19 spread

The topic of Christmas during the Corona crisis is polarizing within Europe. The EU Commission sees this as a particular risk of renewed spread and urges caution. In general, the Brussels authority recommends that the member states do not relax the rules for meetings in the first place. And if they do, then only with strict quarantine conditions for at least seven days before and after, it says. Contacts should always be limited and reduced to the same people during the holidays. Residential community may not be leftItaly’s government is…

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Germany extends partial lockdown until 10 January

The partial lockdown in Germany with closed restaurants, museums, theaters and leisure facilities will be extended until January 10. This was decided by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Minister Presidents of the federal states during their consultations yesterday, as the CDU politician subsequently announced. “In principle, the situation will remain as it is now,” Merkel said. Merkel made it clear that the federal government had made it clear that closed businesses would no longer be compensated according to turnover, unlike in November and December. “The federal states have…

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“Baby elephant” is word of the year

“Baby elephant” is the Austrian word of the year 2020, and by a large margin the symbol for the minimum distance to avoid SARS-CoV-2 infection. The second place was already taken by “Corona” itself. The expert jury, headed by Rudolf Muhr from the “Gesellschaft für Österreichisches Deutsch” (GSÖD – Society for Austrian German language), justified the choice, which was made in cooperation with the APA – Austria Press Agency. In third place was the ambiguous “verblümeln”, according to the jury an “ironic play on words with the name of the…

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UNO warns of massive poverty caused by pandemic

According to the United Nations, the long-term consequences of the pandemic could bring the number of people living in extreme poverty to more than one billion by 2030. However, this development could still be averted, according to a study published today by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The paper outlines three possible future scenarios: In the worst case, more than 200 million additional people would suffer from extreme poverty by 2030 – and thus more than one billion worldwide. In the “basic scenario”, the figure would be 44 million…

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Spain tightens restrictions for Christmas

In Spain, coronavirus restrictions will be tightened for the Christmas holidays: between 23 December and 6 January, the country’s 47 million citizens will only be allowed to leave their respective home regions in exceptional cases. This was decided today by the central government and the 17 autonomous communities of the country, as Health Minister Salvador Illa announced after the video conference in Madrid in the evening. According to the agreement, however, people in Spain will be allowed to cross regional borders during the cordoning off for meetings with close family…

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Germany extends partial lockdown until 10 January

The partial lockdown in Germany with closed restaurants, museums, theaters and leisure facilities will be extended until January 10. This was decided by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Minister Presidents of the federal states during their consultations today, as the CDU politician subsequently announced. “In principle, the situation will remain as it is now,” Merkel said. The round will meet again on January 4 to discuss how to proceed – originally the current conditions were limited until December 20. Measured in terms of population, Germany has significantly lower…

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Trade and Retail: Opening hours extended on 8, 12 and 19 December

Trade union and chamber of commerce agreed on a special collective agreement.The social partners have agreed on an extension of opening hours in the retail sector on 8, 12 and 19 December in order to unbundle the flow of customers somewhat after the relaxation of the Corona lockdown. On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8), retailers can exceptionally open between 09.00 and 19.00 hours. Previously, opening hours on December 8 were limited to 10.00 to 18.00 hours. On the two remaining shopping Saturdays before Christmas, December 12 and…

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WHO recommendation: Wear a protective mask at home

According to the latest recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), under certain circumstances one should also wear a mouth and nose protector at home. Especially if you receive visits from outsiders and the ventilation does not work well or its effect cannot be properly assessed. In recommendations updated on Wednesday, it is stated that this is necessary “regardless of whether a distance of at least one meter can be maintained”. As far as the storage of protective masks is concerned, the masks should not be worn on the arm…

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More waste is produced in the lockdown

The Lockdown is responsible for the fact that in several provinces in Austria at present substantially more garbage is produced. Because of the on-line trade there is a third more cardboard boxes. The lockdown also means that more bulky waste is being disposed. This causes additional costs. In Lienz in East Tyrol there are 60 garbage collection posts which overflow these days again and again. It is because of the bulky cardboard waste that causes a 30 percent increase in waste. According to Gerlinde Küberl, chairwoman of the Lienz environmental…

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