Category: General Interest

According to media reports, the Austrian government plans to introduce strict entry restrictions for the Christmas holidays. All those entering Austria from countries with a 7-day incidence of more than 100 (per 100,000 inhabitants) will have to spend ten days in quarantine. Corresponding reports have been confirmed to the APA from circles of officials. All neighboring countries would be affected. The measure is to come into force before Christmas and is to last at least until 10 January. Those affected should be able to leave quarantine after five days at…

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Santa Claus will also come to many children via screen this year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, parishes often rely on alternative visits to St. Nicholas in digital form, for example as a live visit via video platforms and messenger services. The latest guidelines of the Austrian government also make it possible for St. Nicholas to come home. However, he is not allowed to enter the apartments, but only to the front door. “The message of Saint Nicholas is always up to date, especially this year. To stand up for…

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457,197 people were without a job in November this year. This is an increase of 24.9 percent or 91,247 people compared to last year. Compared to October, there was an increase of 33,447 people, an increase of around 3,300 people compared to the previous week. Of the 457,197 people without a job, 390,858 were registered as unemployed with the Public Employment Service (AMS) – an increase of 30.5 percent or 91,331 people within a year. A further 66,339 people were in training, according to the Ministry of Labor on Tuesday.…

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The sum of all Christmas sales is facing an unprecedented decrease this year in the corona crisis. According to a forecast by the location consultant RegioPlan, which is available to the APA, the separate expenditures made around Christmas will decrease by 17 percent from 2.1 to 1.75 billion euros compared to 2019. The only winners in retail are online and food retailers. The giving away of non-trade-relevant vouchers and money is also expected to increase strongly. An important part of the business has already been missed due to the current…

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On Wednesday the government wants to communicate concrete steps on how things will continue after the lockdown. There are already fierce debates and wish lists on this. In a letter to Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens), the heads of the nine public hospital operators warn against opening steps that are too rapid. After the end of the lockdown on December 6, measures should be taken to “reduce the incidence of infection and keep it at a low level,” the “Kleine Zeitung” reported on Monday in advance. The letter, which is…

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On December 7, school operations are to be resumed – but many details are still open. In addition to the possible gradual opening, there is a space problem at many locations. When all classes start teaching again next week, Bernd Vogel, director of the Parhamergymnasium in Hernals, for example, has a “space problem”. He has been looking around for a few weeks now to see where rooms could be rented. The Kleinbühne Kulisse would have been willing to provide the room for lessons free of charge. But there were legal…

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To protect the elderly population from the corona virus, all persons over 65 years of age are to receive ten free FFP2 protective masks. The Minister of Health is to be authorized to make these masks available, according to an amendment submitted to the APA. The cost of this is estimated at 24 million euros in the turquoise-green amendment, which will be discussed in the Health Committee on Tuesday. The aim of the masks action is to provide the elderly population group, which is in need of special protection, with…

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The small village Fucking in Upper Austria – world-famous bacause of its name – will get the name Fugging, starting January 2021. The inhabitants and the mayor have finally had enough of the worldwide hype about their village. During the past days, it has been reported that souvenir hunters stole the coveted boundary sign by night. Some thieves were caught red-handed, they even came specially from neighboring Bavaria. Now fucking signs are popping up on the Internet: At a sales exchange, a community sign can be bought for 2,499 euros.…

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According to critics, several corona rules have been broken during the visit of newly appointed cardinals to the emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. Eleven new purple bearers went with Pope Francis to the monastery “Mater ecclesiae” in the Vatican Gardens on Saturday. It has been said that the cardinals, hardly any of whom wear a protective mask, keep little to no distance from each other. The pontiff even kisses the hands of his predecessor as if there was no pandemic at all. Pope Franziskus, who very rarely wears a mask in…

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