Category: Feature Stories

Despite Corona, Austrians are more generous on Valentine’s Day than last year. On average, 72 euros per capita are spent on gifts. The trade is pleased.Valentine’s Day 2021 is just around the corner. Many Austrians are planning to surprise their loved ones with Valentine’s Day gifts this year as well. Together with Mindtake Research and idealo.at, the trade association has analyzed facts and figures on buying behavior in times of the Corona pandemic. Flowers most popular as a gift for Valentine’s Day“On average, 72 euros per capita will be spent…

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An online survey showed that about 45 percent of respondents will get vaccinated against Covid-19. About 42 percent do not expect to return to normal until 2022. About 45 percent of respondents in an online survey will get vaccinated against Covid-19 either on their own initiative or for professional reasons. The survey, conducted over the past three weeks by psychologists at the University of Salzburg, involved 3,606 people across Austria, study initiator Manuel Schabus told APA. About 42 percent do not expect a return to normality until 2022. “Expression of…

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AUSTRIA: According to geneticist Andreas Bergthaler, who also advises the government, the data to date show an east-west divide for the British “B.1.1.7” variant and large regional differences. The scientist is concerned, for example, about the Tyrolean cluster with the South African variant (“B.1.351”) – recently, numerous cases occurred in the district of Schwaz. In a random sample of almost 500 positively tested persons in TIrol, a B.1.1.7 proportion of around five percent was recently found, with 15 percent “B.1351”. However, these are regional highlights and can certainly not be…

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They have cryptic names and are likely to complicate pandemic containment: Corona mutations are currently worrying policymakers despite falling case numbers. What should we watch out for? South African mutant, British viral mutation, Brazilian covid species and more: in recent weeks, modified corona pathogens have also been detected with increasing frequency in Austrian laboratories. But what does that actually mean? How widespread are they and what dangers do they pose? Here is an overview of the most important questions and answers: ❓ Which variants are involved?? B.1.1.7 | United Kingdom:…

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Service providers close to the body are allowed to open up again from next Monday. However, until further notice, anyone going to the hairdresser, tattoo artist or similar must present a negative Covid test, which must not be older than 48 hours. Question: I am regularly being tested at work. Does the test apply when I enter a hair saloon? – Generally, any antigen or PCR test that healthcare professionals take applies – self-tests do not. For body-based services such as hairdressing, the test must be older than 48 hours.Question:…

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Two novel variants (mutations) of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus have spread massively in the UK and South Africa in recent weeks. Meanwhile, both mutations have also been detected in COVID-19 infected persons in Austria. What does this mean for the protective effect of already approved vaccines? What do we know about the corona mutations from the UK?Since the fall of 2020, the so-called variant B.1.1.7 of the coronavirus has been spreading in the United Kingdom. The mutation has now established itself in all parts of the UK, where it accounts for…

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A broad majority of people feel threatened by climate change, according to an international survey. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s 1.2 million respondents in 50 nations said the world faces a climate emergency, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) and Britain’s Oxford University. They fear increasing heat waves, droughts, torrential rains and storms. This survey, the largest ever conducted by the United Nations, polled people of different age groups, where more than half of the world’s population lives. According to the researchers, the results…

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The new variants of the coronavirus are spreading in more and more countries: As the World Health Organization (WHO) announced yesterday, the coronavirus mutation initially registered in Great Britain has now been detected in 70 countries. That was ten countries more than a week earlier. The WHO also recorded a larger distribution area for the mutant initially detected in South Africa. The number of affected countries rose by eight to 31 within a week. For the mutation that first appeared in Brazil, the WHO now stated that eight countries were…

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Austrians’ attitudes toward Corona vaccination have changed in recent months. According to a survey, just under half of respondents currently want to be vaccinated “as soon as possible.” According to a recent survey of 1,500 people, the willingness of people in Austria to be vaccinated in January is again significantly higher than it was last time. After a decline in October and December 2020, when only just under a third said “I will have myself vaccinated as soon as possible,” the current figure is 47 percent, which is even higher…

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