Category: General Interest

A new corona mutant has been detected in a 34-year-old woman from Brazil. The woman had hardly any symptoms. The mutation is now being investigated. Next Corona mutation emergedA new variant of the corona virus has been detected in a woman in Brazil. Scientists at the Instituto Butantan, which coordinates a Covid 19 variant alert network, identified the new variant in the city of Sorocaba, near the metropolis of São Paulo with its millions of inhabitants, the Instituto Butantan research organization wrote on Twitter Wednesday. According to the report, the…

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Provincial Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP) announced on Wednesday that, after Vienna, Lower Austria will also extend the “Easter lockdown” to contain the corona crisis until April 11. A little later, Burgenland also announced that the lockdown in the province will be extended. “While a nationwide strategy remains outstanding – and the extension of the test strategy failed in parliament,” the situation in parts of the eastern region is “critical,” Mikl-Leitner said. Therefore, Lower Austria will “in solidarity with Vienna” extend the agreed measures until April 11. Lower Austria hopes for…

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As of today, Austria is divided in two: In the East, much stricter rules apply. Regulation. Since midnight, life in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland is further restricted. In the rest of the country, the previous Corona measures apply. Exit restrictions apply for 24 hours➔ Exceptions: In the three eastern provinces, the following applies: day and night, people are only allowed to leave the house in exceptional cases. These are the well-known reasons: the way to work, purchase of the most necessary, pharmacy & doctor visits, averting danger and, of…

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The traffic light commission has now assessed the risk situation as very high for all of Austria due to the epidemiological development in recent days and is therefore setting it to red throughout – including Vorarlberg. Last week, Vorarlberg was still exempt, although the Commission also saw worrying developments there. This is according to the current risk assessment, which is available to APA. The reason is the burden on the healthcare system, which has further increased compared to the previous week. Intensive care unit utilization due to Covid 19 patients…

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This news surprised the Austrians at the end of January: The supermarket brand “Merkur” will cease, the stores will now become “Billa Plus” Preparations in the 144 “Merkur” stores for the renaming are already in full swing. Thousands of signs, handles and price markers have to be replaced. From April 1, the time has come for the stores to open only as “Billa Plus”. Until the last traces of the former “Merkur” branding have really disappeared, it will still take a few weeks, explained Rewe spokesman Paul Pöttschacher in an…

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On Wednesday, Chancellor Kurz announced that they were “on the last meters” in the Sputnik procurement. However, a final decision on the matter is not expected today. Russia offers Austria 1 million dosesAfter his talks with Russian Ambassador to Vienna Dmitry Lyubinsky, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said they are “on the last meters and an order for Sputnik can probably be placed as early as next week.” Kurz said he was very happy about the binding delivery promise, as a “very prompt delivery” would thus be possible here. Currently, after already…

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Vaccinations in Upper Austria are progressing and already at the end of April there is another boost from the Johnson&Johnson vaccine. Nearly 270,000 doses of vaccine have now been administered in Upper Austria. While there are currently three vaccines available (AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna), there will be four from the end of April. The vaccine from Johnson&Johnson will then be delivered. “According to the current status, the first doses will be delivered at the end of April,” it says in this regard from the crisis staff of the country reported…

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel has discussed possible cooperation on vaccines with French President Emmanuel Macron and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. The exchange via video link also dealt with the Russian Corona vaccine Sputnik V, whose EU approval is to be decided by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Tuesday evening. “This evaluation is done according to the same standards that are applied to all other vaccines,” it said. According to Kremlin sources, among the issues discussed were prospects of “possible supplies and joint production of this…

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The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is currently conducting a rolling review of the approval of the Russian CoV vaccine “Sputnik V”. There is no result yet. Nevertheless, the government is currently negotiating with Russia on a delivery of one million doses of the vaccine to Austria. Delivery could start as early as April. Kurz and Anschober: vaccine must be safe“There must be no geopolitical blinkers when it comes to the vaccine. The only thing that should count is whether the vaccine is effective and safe, not where it comes from,”…

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