Category: General Interest

The rising corona numbers are also making themselves felt at schools. This week, almost 19,000 positive PCR tests were registered, significantly more than the previous week (around 14,000). In total, 1.6 percent of the tests were positive in the two test runs (except for Vienna). Across Austria, eight schools are wholly blocked, and an additional 856 classes are entirely or partially obstructed. In Vienna, 5,266 pupils (previous week: 4,607) were registered with infections, although a different testing system than in the rest of the country is used here with “Alles…

Read More

The Viennese Easter markets had to be canceled in the past two years due to the pandemic. This year, however, they will be held again at four locations. The 2-G rule will only apply in catering areas unless the infection worsens drastically. The Altwiedner Ostermarkt on the Freyung, the Ostermarkt am Hof and the Kalvarienberg fest open their doors on 1.4. The Schönbrunn Palace Easter Market is open from 2.4 to Easter Monday on 18.4. Margarete Gumbrecht, chairwoman of the trade section in the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, said: “It…

Read More

The Corona Commission calls for the reintroduction of measures to contain the coronavirus. The Corona Commission is sounding the alarm over the high number of cases and calling for stricter measures. According to information from the APA, all provinces were again put on the highest risk level at today’s committee meeting. Still, the reintroduction of appropriate preventive measures was also demanded. It is interesting to note that only the representative of the Federal Chancellery abstained from this recommendation. The Commission justified the request with the increasing number of cases and…

Read More

According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), 2.3 million people have fled Ukraine since the war in the country began. Among them were more than 112,000 citizens of third countries, the UN agency announced on its website. On Wednesday alone, 117,600 people had crossed the border into Poland, the Polish border guard announced on Twitter on Thursday. In the meantime, the number is decreasing. A spokeswoman for the authority said of the situation on Thursday: “By 7.00 a.m. today, there were 35 percent fewer than on Wednesday morning.” She…

Read More

FFP2 mask remains compulsory at Vienna church services. Wearing an FFP2 mask during church services remains compulsory in all Viennese churches. The Archdiocese of Vienna made this tightening compared to the Austria-wide regulations in the Catholic Church on Wednesday. Due to the incidence of infections, the diocesan guidance recommends that all choir rehearsals and performances be required to show proof of 3G. Given the parish council elections on 20 March, it is determined that FFP2 masks are mandatory indoors for all persons (election commission, voters). In Vienna, the FFP2 mask…

Read More

The wide openings connected to the new Omicron sub-variant, which is currently dominating in Austria, bring the coronavirus traffic light back into the red zone. While the numbers tended to decline slightly in the past weeks, the 14-day trend is now pointing upwards again, in some cases strongly. According to the working document of the responsible commission, the system risk in regular wards is also on the rise. The development is unfavorable compared to the previous week. While Vienna was already close to leaving the maximum risk zone, the situation…

Read More

The number of people fleeing Ukraine because of the Russian attack rises sharply. The UN refugee agency UNHCR reported more than 140,000 war refugees arriving in neighboring countries today alone. According to UN figures, more than 2.15 million people have already fled since the Russian offensive began 24 February. Most of the Ukraine refugees are in Poland, according to the UNHCR: There are just under 1.3 million there. Around 200,000 people have arrived in Hungary, 153,000 in Slovakia. Hundreds of thousands more fled to Romania and Moldova or traveled to…

Read More

Caritas expects “worst humanitarian catastrophe since the Second World War.“ For the time being, Austria is mainly a transit country. They are probably the forerunners of the worst humanitarian catastrophe since the Second World War: for days now, the number of people landing in Austria after an often chaotic flight from Ukraine has been steadily increasing. Once again, Vienna’s central railway station is a hotspot – for the time being, it functions primarily as a transit station. Most of them are mothers with their children who gather at the Caritas…

Read More

A can of cola (330 milliliters) carries around ten teaspoons of sugar into the body. But the popular drink also contains phosphoric acid and caffeine. A mixture that sets some processes in motion in the body. Sometimes a cold cola is a treat – even if we know that we are putting a lot of sugar and a few calories into our bodies, which is not suitable for our health. However, a lot more happens in the organism after you have drunk a can of caffeinated soft drink. And that…

Read More