Category: Feature Stories

On July 1, 2022, EU roaming will be extended by ten years. Data speeds may then no longer be restricted. Free-roaming in the EU will be even better as of July 1Sending a photo from the beach in Italy or calling your parents from a city trip to Paris will incur no additional costs. The new EU roaming regulation will only come into force on Friday at the start of the vacation season. EU citizens can make calls, surf the Internet or send text messages on their cell phones at…

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Relief measures such as the reduction of energy levies provided a brief easing in household prices for electricity and gas in May. However, this effect was offset by the rise in prices of other energy sources, the Austrian Energy Agency admitted. In a year-on-year comparison, energy prices nevertheless rose by 38 percent overall in May. The experts expect further price increases. “Anyone who wants to sign a new contract must currently expect enormous price increases for new customer tariffs,” the Austrian Energy Agency said in a statement provided to APA.…

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In Lower Austria, the June temperature record was broken on Wednesday at 36.7 degrees. Vienna weather in detailJust before the end of the month, the June temperature record for this year, set ten days ago in Vorarlberg, was once again surpassed today (Wednesday) at the ZAMG weather station in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg in Lower Austria with 36.7 degrees. However, the values were away from the June record. Thus, it remains at the 38.6 degrees, measured on June 20, 2013, in Waidhofen/Ybbs, also in Lower Austria. Major temperature records between east and…

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Because of the milder corona courses caused by Omicron (and the problems caused by the many segregations), there are also considerations in Austria to change the quarantine and segregation rules. On Tuesday, a spokesman for Rauch explained (as published by APA) that the ministry is currently working on a variant management plan – and that “of course,” there are always plans and concepts on quarantine and isolation. One must always distinguish between contact persons and infected persons, he emphasized. The currently prevailing Corona variant also plays a role in the…

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The omicron sub-variant BA.5 is now also predominant in Austria. It is more contagious than the previously dominant variants. This is probably one reason infection numbers are not falling as in the past two summers. However, the European Union health agency ECDC sees no evidence that BA.5 leads to a more severe disease course in covid-19 compared to previous omicron lines. The same is true for the BA.4 subvariant, but there are indications that the two subvariants may again infect more lung cells and thus cause more severe courses. This…

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Vienna – The number of active Corona cases in Austria is expected to exceed the 100,000 mark again soon. At the same time, comparatively little is currently being tested. On Monday, just under 88,000 people were considered actively infected, compared to around 44,400 a week ago. Including those affected in quarantine, however, there are probably already more than 100,000 people in isolation. Corona-related outages are already causing problems for AUA. On Monday, 6,398 new infections were registered. Vienna, where the most testing is done, is the first province to have…

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In the race against mutating coronavirus, manufacturers have presented what they see as positive clinical data on adapted vaccines. For example, Pfizer/Biontech and Moderna recently published results showing that their adapted boosters stimulate an efficient immune response even against the newer omicron sublines BA.4 and BA.5. However, it is essential to note that the new vaccines are not specifically tailored to these variants but to the BA.1 subline, which is no longer circulating in Germany. There is now a debate about whether the approval process should not be shortened so…

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After two years of Covid, a lot of vacation hunger has piled up. But many vacation destinations are currently struggling again with high Corona numbers. It is true that, just in time for the start of summer, popular vacation destinations such as Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa have relaxed their entry regulations again. Nevertheless, the new Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 could spoil the long-awaited break in no time. This is because several vacation destinations are currently struggling with high case numbers. Most of Europe’s corona infections are currently taking…

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Fifty-five percent support mandatory masks in public spaces. From Saturday to Sunday, 7,093 new Corona infections were recorded in Austria. While Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) still does not want to commit himself when the reintroduction of the mask obligation should take place. A survey conducted by OGM for the Austrian daily newspaper KURIER paints a clear picture. According to the survey, 55 percent of the 1,015 respondents favor reintroducing mandatory FFP2 masks in public areas such as supermarkets, shared offices, or public transportation. Forty percent are against it. Five…

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