Category: General Interest

In Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, students are switching back to distance learning for four days today. For the under-14s, there will once again be a childcare service at the schools if required. As with face-to-face classes, the prerequisite for taking advantage of this service is the completion of a negative “nose-picking” test. In the other federal provinces, the same school schedule as before Easter is on the agenda at the elementary schools – i.e. attendance classes on all four days at the elementary schools, and shift work at the…

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The 65th Eurovision Song Contest is to take place in Rotterdam in May with an audience after all – at least with a limited number. This was announced by the Dutch organizers on Thursday. The government in The Hague had previously announced that the ESC would be made a test case. Within the framework of a research project, it will be investigated whether and how events with an audience can be organized safely in Corona times. The Netherlands has been in lockdown since mid-December, and no relaxation of the measures…

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On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis plans to celebrate one of the highest feasts in the Church year for the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, followed by the blessing “Urbi et Orbi”. The head of the Catholic Church will once again have to celebrate the festivities under Corona conditions. The crowds of pilgrims who came to the Vatican and the Italian capital of Rome in the past failed to show up again this year. Service in St. Peter’s BasilicaBefore the pandemic, Easter Sunday Mass was often celebrated in St.…

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Most of the churches are in silent mode. Easter services are limited to few faithful, who can attend the easter celebrations. Restaurants are closed. Family members who aren’t already under the same roof will not be gathering for a meal of ham or lamb, scalloped potatoes and spring vegetables. This Easter Sunday is very different than any we have experienced in living memory. The novel coronavirus pandemic has shut down cities, economies and in-person social interaction around the world and casts a shadow more in keeping with the darkness of…

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Pope Francis celebrated the Easter Vigil on Saturday under Corona conditions, as he did last year. Because of the restrictions in place in Italy, the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica was brought forward to 7:30 p.m., as a curfew is in effect from 10 p.m., as it has been for months. The whole of Italy is also considered a Red Zone with the strictest Corona rules over the Easter period from April 3 to 5. Most of the same restrictions apply in the Vatican City State as in the Italian…

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More than 130.24 million people worldwide have been confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus. This was the result of a Reuters count based on official data on Saturday. More than 2.97 million people died in connection with the virus. The U.S. has the highest numbers, with more than 30.65 million cases of infection and more than 554,000 deaths. Brazil is in second place with more than 12.9 million infections and more than 328,000 deaths, ahead of India, where about 12.4 million people have been confirmed infected and more than 164,000…

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has relaxed its recommendations for fully vaccinated individuals with travel in mind. The agency published new guidelines on Friday stating that it again considers domestic and international travel acceptable for these people. Fully vaccinated individuals can travel safely within the U.S., it said. But they should continue to follow precautions while doing so: Wear masks, keep their distance from others and wash or disinfect their hands as often as possible. For domestic travel, corona testing before or after is not mandatory for those…

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At the start of the Easter lockdown in eastern Austria, the police drew a positive balance. The population is largely disciplined and adheres in principle to the lockdown measures. Vienna’s city center emptyLargely disciplined, the population in the eastern region adheres to the prescribed and with Thursday in force “Easter calm”. The police in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland have not yet had to call in the curfews in droves and hardly disperse any gatherings, which was quite surprising in view of the early summer temperatures. There had been significantly…

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Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández has tested positive for the coronavirus, although he was injected with the Russian vaccine Sputnik V weeks ago. The sobering test result came on his 62nd birthday, of all days, the head of state wrote on Twitter that night. Due to his headache and elevated temperature of 37.3 degrees, he had first undergone an antigen test and after the positive result had gone into quarantine. For confirmation, he said, he had a more accurate PCR test done, the result of which is still pending. Fernández had…

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