Category: General Interest

Vienna is putting an end to the lockdown – at least partially – as early as next Sunday, as reported by the Austrian Press Agency. This Sunday, cultural and sports facilities as well as service providers will be allowed to reopen. Also those parts of the trade, which usually have open on Sunday, may do so. This applies, for example, to the Christmas markets. Vienna would have needed its own ordinanceMost recently, December 13, i.e. Monday, was mentioned as the day on which the curfew – at least in part…

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According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), these can also be given after just three months. Notwithstanding current recommendations to administer the booster after six months, “currently available data support a safe and effective booster dose as early as three months after completion of basic immunization,” EMA Director of Immunization Strategy Marco Cavaleri said yesterday. Cavaleri also expressed optimism about an early approval for U.S. manufacturer Novavox’s Corona vaccine, which is one of the protein vaccines. It could happen this year, he said. That would add a fifth authorized Corona…

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U.S. health authorities have approved the use of a drug containing synthetic antibodies to protect people against corona infection. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency approval Wednesday (local time) for Evusheld, a drug developed by AstraZeneca. However, the agency warned the drug is “not a substitute” for people in whom vaccination is recommended. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) also launched a “rolling review” process on Evusheld ready in October. The drug may be used in the U.S. only in people with weakened immune systems or those who…

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The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has already been detected in at least 57 countries. This was announced yesterday in Geneva by the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The number of omicron infections is rising sharply in South Africa, he said, but it is too early to say whether the virus is spreading similarly in other regions of the world. “In South Africa, Omicron cases are rising rapidly, but Omicron was detected there when transmission of the delta variant was low, so it had little…

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In large parts of Austria it has snowed heavily overnight. Power outbreaks, traffic obstructions and numerous fire department deployments are the result. Michele Salmi, meteorologist of the storm center Ubimet, announced yesterday already: “We are facing the strongest snow event of the past ten years.” An Italian low is responsible for this. The Austrian Severe Weather Center has already declared the highest weather warning level on Thursday morning due to the heavy snowfall – this affects the provinces of Vorarlberg, Tyrol and Carinthia. In the remaining provinces, the red weather…

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The City of Vienna has calculated the occupancy of intensive care units by vaccination status for the Corona Commission. It turns out that it is mainly a pandemic of the unvaccinated – and the elderly. The numbers here are not absolute, but relative to the respective population size. For example, about 420,000 people aged 60 or older live in Vienna. Of these, about 175 unvaccinated patients/100,000 people were in normal wards in calendar week 48 (11/29 to 12/5). This adds up to about 735 hospital patients in the last week.…

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In a press conference on Tuesday, Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced that the lockdown for vaccinated people will end on December 12. Further details are not known at this time. Lockdown end in Austria for vaccinated from 12 DecemberAs planned, the lockdown for vaccinated people in Austria will end on December 12. This was announced by Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) at a press conference on Tuesday. For unvaccinated, however, the lockdown continues to apply. It is no longer a question of whether, but how the lockdown will be ended, the Chancellor…

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On Tuesday, Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) announced in a press conference how things will continue after the lockdown ends. According to the announcement, Christmas markets in Vienna will also be allowed to open on December 13. Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig proposes to open gradually after the lockdown from December 13, continuing to focus on security. Ludwig announced this on Tuesday at a media briefing following consultations with a panel of experts on the Corona situation. Christmas markets are also to be allowed to open. Christmas markets should be allowed…

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The number of positive PCR tests at schools continued to decline last week. According to data from the Ministry of Education and the City of Vienna, 3,089 tests were successful in the week from Nov. 29 to Dec. 3 (week before: 4,022) – and this despite the fact that, after Vienna, Lower and Upper Austria also tested twice instead of once with the more meaningful PCR test for the first time. Of the ministry’s 917,000 “Everything Flushes” tests, 0.19 percent were positive (week before: 0.39). Number of class closures also…

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