Category: General Interest

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Russia to end military violence in Ukraine immediately. On Wednesday, the United Nations’ highest court in The Hague upheld a lawsuit filed by Ukraine against Russia. Ukraine accused Russia of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention and wanted the court to end the violence. The judges and justices were also expected to declare no legal basis for the war. Russia had boycotted the March 7 hearing in the case. Rulings by the UN’s highest court are binding, to be sure. But the court has…

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More than 300,000 people were infected with the CoV virus last week. This puts Austria in the front rank in a European comparison. Only Iceland and Liechtenstein currently have a higher seven-day incidence. More than 300,000 people have been infected with the Coronavirus in this country in the past week. This puts Austria among the absolute frontrunner in Europe. According to the statistics portal Statista, which refers to data from Johns Hopkins University and the Robert Koch Institute, of 46 European countries, only Iceland and Liechtenstein had more officially confirmed…

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The government says goodbye to permanent free tests The federal government is saying goodbye to the permanent free-of-charge testing at the end of March. Instead, these will be limited to a quota of five free PCR tests and five antigen tests per month, said Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) at a press conference on Tuesday: “Anyone who wants to be tested can continue to do so.” It remained open how it continues with the school tests. Rauch referred here to the responsibility of the Ministry of Education. With the “good…

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10-day quarantine for K1 people falls. What the new testing regime will look like 2.3 billion euros were spent in 2020/2021 for the free Corona tests on the part of the state. Remarkably about this, the cost of the vaccines, which the Ministry of Finance puts at 340 million euros. The Federal government has announced an end to the testing strategy in April. ÖVP Finance Minister Magnus Brunner can no longer imagine “free Corona tests for everyone at any time.” As he let it be known over the weekend, Health…

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The German Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has again reported a peak in the 7-day incidence for Germany. The RKI said the value of new CoV infections per 100,000 inhabitants was 1,585.4 this morning. The previous day, the value was 1,543.0. A week ago, the Germany-wide incidence was 1,293.6 (last month: 1,437.5). Germany’s health offices reported 198,888 new CoV infections to the RKI within one day. Experts assume many cases that are not recorded in the RKI data. One reason is the limited capacity of health offices. For example, contacts are…

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Time is running out to decide on the future Corona Test strategy in Austria. If there is no agreement by 31 March 2022, there will be no more free screening programs. Change in testing strategy possible by decreeThis raises questions as to whether nursing homes can then be visited without a Corona test, for example, or whether the current Corona quarantine rules could be maintained at all. The government is hoping for a solution in the coming days. Only 2.5 weeks are left until the end of the month. This…

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CoV protection measures have been lifted concerning the hospital situation and an expected decline in infections – only in Vienna, not all of them. But the reduction in infections is modest, and hospitals’ situation is coming to a head. In Vienna, 6,329 new infections have been reported in the past 24 hours. There is currently no sign of a gradual decline in conditions. The virus is rampant in schools, kindergartens, and hospitals, where many employees are absent due to quarantine regulations. There are more and more patients in Vienna’s hospitals,…

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According to a new study, even a single glass of wine a day could change brain structure. According to a study published in the journal “Nature Communications, “moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a smaller brain volume and a reduced mass of grey and white brain matter. Scientists from the US universities of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin-Madison came to this conclusion. It is well known that chronic excessive alcohol abuse is detrimental to health. It is associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, faster aging, and brain structure and connectivity changes. However, evidence…

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Pope Francis is horrified by the news and images from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, besieged by Russians. At the Angelus prayer this Sunday, he spoke of “barbarism.“ “The only thing that must be done is to put an end to unacceptable armed aggression before it turns cities into cemeteries,” the Pope said verbatim. Once again, he spoke out in favor of negotiations and truly safe humanitarian corridors for civilians. “In the name of God, I ask you: stop this massacre!” Francis thanked all those working on behalf of Ukrainian…

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