Category: General Interest

City of Vienna tightens Corona penalties significantly once again. Mask violators face a fine of up to 500 euros. New penalties for Corona offenders have been set with the recent COVID-19 protective measures ordinance that governs the current soft lockdown. Police are now empowered under the Epidemic Act 1950 and the COVID-19 Measures Act to impose fines with organ penalty orders of up to 90 euros. This concerns both the violation of the prescribed minimum distance of two meters and the mask requirement. Whereas the previous ordinance previously provided for…

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The 1-2-3-Ticket, which is planned to be introduced nationwide this year, will be 25 percent cheaper for all persons under 26 years of age. The Austria stage of the ticket gives it for young humans around 821 euro, announced environment and traffic minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) on Friday in a dispatch. With the 1-2-3 ticket the public traffic in Austria is to become predominantly more favorable. For the full price of 1,095 may then use all public transport in the country. Gewessler had met with representatives of the Austrian Student…

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Non-essential travel to Tyrol is advised not to do so. People who have been in Tyrol in the last two weeks should be tested. The federal government is tightening its rules in connection with the South African variant of the coronavirus that is rampant in Tyrol. On Monday, the federal government issued a de facto travel warning for the state. Non-essential travel to Tyrol should be refrained from, it said in a statement. In addition, the federal government urged all those who have been in Tyrol in the past two…

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Over 500 pharmacies in Austria are offering free rapid antigen tests as of today, 79 of them in Vienna. Registration is required. The website of the Chamber of Pharmacists was temporarily overloaded. A pharmacist in Vienna-Donaustadt reported, “Our appointments are booked up to three weeks.” “It’s pretty much going around,” confirmed a spokesperson for the Chamber of Pharmacists. He said the chamber is registering “extreme demand.” The pilot project, which started at the same time as steps to relax the coronavirus measures, is being gradually expanded. So far, about one…

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As of today, Monday, some of the students are allowed back to school classes. The first school day since Christmas began for all of them with the rapid test, which can be done in a few minutes. After all, reports the Vienna Education Directorate, there were 31 students for whom the rapid test showed a positive result: 13 of them in elementary schools, three in middle schools, seven in AHS and two in BMHS, plus one positive result each in a special school and with a special education teacher. Actually,…

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A new corona mutation is harder for the immune system to catch, but it weakens disease progression. However, new vaccine variants may be needed. The E484K mutation, which has now also emerged in the United Kingdom, strengthens the coronavirus against defense mechanisms in the body, according to virologist Alexander Kekule. “The virus escapes the immune system more easily,” the Halle-Wittenberg University professor said Wednesday. Like other mutations, the mutation affects the so-called spike protein, which gives the coronavirus its crown-like shape. E484K: Antibodies less effectiveAntibodies, however, are significantly less effective…

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As part of a pilot project, 400 pharmacies in Austria will offer free rapid antigen tests starting Monday. Registration is required. All Pharmacies offering free covid 19 test, click here The free corona virus tests will be launched in about 400 pharmacies across the country, and the offer will be expanded gradually thereafter, according to the Austrian Chamber of Pharmacists. “Corona testing is an important pillar of the strategy to combat the pandemic and can bring a bit of normality and freedom back to people in many areas of daily…

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The chancellor takes the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to task and urges it to also test the Russian and Chinese vaccines. He himself would also be vaccinated with the vaccines. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) wants to have the Russian and Chinese Corona vaccine produced in Austria. Following approval of the two vaccines, “Austria would certainly try to make production capacities available at suitable domestic companies for Russian or Chinese vaccines,” Kurz told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. “Just as it would for manufacturers in other countries,” he added. “After all,…

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According to a newspaper report, the vaccine developed by the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca apparently does not offer comprehensive protection against the B.1.351 coronavirus mutation, which was first discovered in South Africa and recently spread strongly in Tyrol. The drug does not protect against mild and moderate illnesses caused by this viral variant, reports the Financial Times, citing a study to be published at the beginning of the week. The AstaZeneca vaccine plays a key role in Austria’s vaccination schedule. A first shipment of 36,000 doses arrived in Austria yesterday night,…

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