The comeback of mandatory use of FFP2 mask in Austria

A mask can prevent many infections, hospitalizations, and long covid cases. Fact: Fewer and fewer people are wearing masks. Many also skillfully dangle them from one ear. While some mask fatigue is understandable – the coronavirus is not tired. Quite the opposite: we are in the midst of the autumn wave. Statements like “I’ve been vaccinated three times, so it’s no big deal if I catch it” are understandable to a certain extent. But people forget that you can suffer from long covid after an infection despite vaccination. And it…

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Federal presidential election: How Austria voted

Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen has achieved his election goal – he was already elected for a second six-year term in the first round of voting on Sunday. The other candidates fell short of their goal of forcing Van der Bellen into a runoff. The federal presidential election is over, and that is probably final. According to the first projections, the incumbent Alexander Van der Bellen achieved a clear absolute majority, which makes a runoff election in four weeks obsolete. Walter Rosenkranz, the candidate of the Freedom Party, comes…

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THE CURRENT SITUATION – New infection figure also in five digits on election Sunday

Once again, new infections in the five-digit range have been reported for the previous day in Austria. Ten thousand eight hundred ninety-seven new cases were recorded. Another person infected with the coronavirus died. The province with the highest seven-day incidence is Tyrol, with 1257.4, followed by Upper Austria, Salzburg, and Carinthia (1220.5, 1216.6, and 1127.8, respectively). Lower Austria (1064.2), Burgenland (1033.6), Styria (1003.7), Vienna (958) and Vorarlberg (890.9) follow. Detailed figures around hospital occupancy were also not available on Sunday. An overview of the Corona patients in the hospitals and…

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Austrian election today: Who will be the next Federal President?

The first polling stations for the federal presidential election have long since opened. The first ones will even close again in a few hours. As early as 6 a.m., six polling stations in Tyrol and Lower Austria were welcoming voters. Not all of them will be open when the first four polls close at 9 a.m. in Tyrol and Styria. But at least in some parts of Austria – for example, in the federal capital – there is still time to vote until 5 p.m. Then the last polling stations…

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The number of Corona patients in hospitals continues to rise

The Corona autumn wave continues to rise; in the past week alone, there were nearly 95,000 more infected people across Austria – with significantly lower testing numbers than last October. According to AGES, fifteen thousand ninety-nine new infections were registered in the past 24 hours. Hospitals added 78 positive patients, and authorities also reported 15 more deaths. There were now 139,282 laboratory-confirmed, actively infected people across Austria. That is more than Innsbruck has, with a population of about 130,000. Since the end of the quarantine obligation more than two months…

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6,363,489 eligible Austrians elect a new federal president

6,363,489 Austrians are eligible to vote in the federal presidential election on October 9, 2022. They can decide whether Alexander Van der Bellen should remain federal president for another six years – or whether they prefer one of his six competitors. All Austrians who turn 16 no later than October 9 are eligible to vote. That is slightly fewer this year than in the 2019 National Council election and a shade less than in the 2016 Hofburg election. Fewer eligible voters than in the 2019 NR electionThe number of eligible…

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Gecko advises FFP2 masks and Corona vaccination

Against the backdrop of increasing Corona infection dynamics (rising infection figures and higher hospitalization rates) in Austria, the All-State Covid Crisis Coordination (Gecko) recommends wearing FFP2 masks more often, especially in public transport and indoors, as announced on Friday. Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) plans to decide on a return of mandatory FFP2 masks in the next few days, according to “Presse.” “The Gecko recommendation at the moment is to consider introducing mandatory FFP2 masks in certain areas,” Rauch said. “We will continue monitoring the situation for a few more…

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Already in a few days, the FFP2 mask requirement may come back

Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) wants to decide in the next few days about a return of the FFP2 mask obligation. “The Gecko recommendation at the moment is to consider introducing the FFP2 mask obligation in certain areas,” Rauch told Die Presse. “We will continue monitoring the situation for a few days.” If you continue to have the current development, “we will come to the point where we have to act,” the minister said. “The direction will certainly emerge in the coming days.” Rauch explained that mandatory masks would be…

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Corona traffic light again shows high risk for the whole of Austria

This year’s Corona autumn wave continues to build up. On Thursday, the Corona Commission also followed suit and classified the whole of Austria as high risk – i.e., orange. A week ago, the country was still yellow. Along with this, the provinces of Burgenland, Salzburg, Styria, and Vienna are also rated high risk. The states of Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Tyrol, and Vorarlberg are ranked medium risk. The load in intensive care units yesterday (Wednesday) was a Covid-specific 3.9 percent based on all reported adult intensive care beds in…

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