Online shopping boom among Austrians continues after Corona

50 percent of Austrians have been buying more online since the start of the Corona crisis than before. Of these, in turn, 66 percent said they would continue to do so in the future. According to an Austria-wide survey by idealo.at, for 68 percent of all online shoppers, one reason why they will continue to shop digitally is that they are not tied to opening hours. Almost two-thirds of all respondents cited the fact that the online range is larger, shopping is more relaxed and stress-free and that products do…

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Further increase in the number of patients in Vienna’s intensive care units

The number of COVID patients in intensive care units, continues to rise and has once again climbed to a new high. According to data from the Ministry of Interior and Health, 176 people are in intensive care units in Vienna’s hospitals, eight more than Tuesday. The British variant now accounts for 90 percent of the infection incidence in Vienna. In recent days, the Vienna Health Association has repeatedly drawn attention to the seriousness of the situation in the hospitals. For example, a spokeswoman recently warned that resources were visibly being…

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Easter in Eastern Austria: Public religious services remain possible

Due to the sharp rise in the number of infections in the three eastern provinces, the government, together with the provincial governors, has agreed to tighten the Corona prevention measures for the Holy Week and Easter for Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland. The bishops of the dioceses of Eisenstadt, St. Pölten and Vienna then decreed on Wednesday, in view of Holy Week and the beginning of the Easter season, that public religious services may only be celebrated under the strictest and most carefully perceived preventive measures. This was preceded by…

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Bishops’ conference adjusts framework regulations and detailed rules for Holy Week and Easter

The Austrian Bishops’ Conference has reacted to new government requirements that allow regionally autonomous approaches to Corona control. While it was already stated that the respective local bishop could issue detailed regulations for parishes in a region or, if necessary, for his entire diocese, the new framework order, which was published on Tuesday, March 23, at www.bischofskonferenz.at/behelfe/corona-rahmenordnung, states that a bishop must make these adjustments following the state legal situation. Literally, a footnote to the framework states, “If regional tightening of the state legal situation occurs, the diocesan bishop must…

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Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland: Easter vacations extended, trade will be partially closed

Corona measures in the eastern region are to be tightened. There are plans to extend the Easter vacations in schools, as well as an “Easter rest” in trade. The rules of entry for commuters will also be tightened. The increasing load on intensive care units is now leading to stricter Corona measures in the eastern region. According to information from the APA, school vacations will be extended by one week or there will be a switch to distance learning. In addition, the trade will close in a kind of “Easter…

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New drug effective against covid-19

A drug combination is effective against coronavirus, according to new study data from Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche. An antibody cocktail of Casirivimab and Imdevimab reduced hospitalizations and deaths by about 70 percent, Roche reported. In addition, the therapy developed by Regeneron led to a four-day reduction in the duration of symptoms, it said. The study results would be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The cocktail of casirivimab and imdevimab also met all key secondary endpoints in the study, called Regn-cov…

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Corona disease on the rise under the age of 25

Corona virus is increasingly becoming a problem for children, adolescents and young adults under the age of 25, according to recent figures from AGES. Figures from the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) for calendar week eleven (March 15-21) show that nearly 30 percent of the total 21,880 people infected with coronavirus last week were under the age of 25. About 30 percent of those newly infected not yet 25 years oldMeanwhile, 15- to 24-year-olds and five- to 14-year-olds also have by far the highest seven-day incidences of any…

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Germany tightens lockdown over Easter

In view of rising CoV infection figures, Germany is going into its most severe lockdown over Easter since the pandemic began a year ago. From April 1 to April 5 inclusive, public, economic and private life is to be severely shut down. This was decided by German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the prime ministers of the states during the night. The lockdown will be extended overall until April 18. This was decided by Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the state premiers on Tuesday night, according to their decision paper.…

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Chancellor Kurz: COVID self-tests will be upgraded and focus on regional measures

The federal government discussed on Monday, 21 March 2021 – with experts, the representatives of the opposition as well as the provincial governors. The stated goal: to push back the spread of the coronavirus – especially in eastern Austria – and its mutants. After the marathon talks, however, the Turquoise-Green coalition failed to present a clear strategy for achieving this goal. Instead, it was decided to focus on regionally differentiated steps – and to look at more indicators. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) formulated the roadmap as follows: “Day by day,…

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