Category: General Interest

The Omicron variant is now the dominant variant in the European Union and the European Economic Area, according to the EU health agency ECDC. Omicron is now prevalent in most affected countries, and its share of corona infections is currently around 78 percent, the Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said Friday. The European Economic Area includes Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, in addition to the 27 EU countries. Corona infections are currently on the rise across Europe, with registered cases of infection in the region increasing by nine…

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The damage caused by super typhoon “Rai” (local name Odette) in the Philippines in mid-December is far greater than anticipated, according to UN figures. “We have found that we initially vastly underestimated the extent of the devastation,” the UN coordinator in the Southeast Asian country, Gustavo González, said Friday at an online press conference. According to the statement, not three, but nine million people have been affected by the consequences of the massive storm. After the typhoon, several countries had announced relief funds for the affected region. So far, however,…

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Case numbers are rising rapidly. Omicron gives the pandemic a house number of new infections in Austria. Since Tuesday, a huge number of infections have brought the Omicron wave. Accordingly, Austria is on alert and this is also reflected on the Corona map of the country. According to the map, the entire Alpine republic is considered a high-risk area and is colored red. The color of the provinces is based on the seven-day incidence. A value of 100 or more means high risk and the change of color to red.…

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From Monday on, boostered people are allowed to enter Austria without a Coronatest, no matter which country they come from. This new entry rule is provided for by the 12th amendment to the Covid-19 entry regulation, which was published in the Federal Law Gazette on Wednesday evening. Fourteen Omicron precursor countries will be removed from the list of virus variant areas, it says, according to APA, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom, as well as 10 countries in southern Africa. As a result, there will be no…

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Currently, fraudsters are again trying to get their victims to open a link via SMS. Internet users are being lured into the trap with different tricks, but always with the same intention. They receive a message via SMS in which a supposedly important reason is given that makes it necessary to click on the link sent along. This usually leads to a page where users are asked to enter their personal data or access data for Facebook or online banking. Such phishing attempts are usually easy to unmask. On the…

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Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) is “of course” in favor of a comeback of living room testing if further increases in coronavirus case numbers overload the system. He expects a recommendation on this from the advisory panel of the all-state Covid Crisis Coordination Office (GECKO). A decision could come as early as this week. The commission is currently deliberating on the testing strategy going forward. “We are now at the beginning of the fifth wave and have a very well-developed testing system. An immediate adjustment to the testing strategy is…

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According to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, annual vaccination against coronavirus may be needed, and more often for high-risk patients. The adapted Omicron vaccine should be available in March. EMA to make decision on anti-corona pillAccording to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, annual vaccinations against coronavirus may become necessary. High-risk patients may need even more frequent boosters, he said at a J.P. Morgan health care conference Monday. Bourla reiterated the announcement that a special vaccine from BioNTech’s partner against Omikron would be ready in March. He told CNBC a few hours before…

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Compulsory vaccination will come into force from the beginning of February for everyone aged 18 and over. Unvaccinated also face automated penalties. On Sunday, the federal government presented the draft law on compulsory vaccination against the corona virus. Compulsory vaccination for everyone 18 years and older is to take effect in February. There are exceptions for pregnant women or for medical reasons. The bill will be discussed today, Monday, in the Health Committee of Parliament in the National Council. In the afternoon, at 2 p.m., the committee will then start…

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Police have been carrying out 2G checks in retail since Tuesday, when they became mandatory. 1,000 violations have been penalized. Since Tuesday, retailers have been required to check for compliance with the 2G rule in stores, or people must wear an FFP2 mask outdoors if the two-meter distance can be maintained. Police checks 2G controls in storesBy Saturday morning, some 180,000 checks had been carried out since the introduction of these new rules, with the focus on retail, restaurants and tourist hotspots, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. 1,000…

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