Category: General Interest

Doing without big family get-togethers at Christmas because of the coronavirus? For 18 percent of people in Austria, this is out of the question, just under 30 percent at least do not want to do without all meetings, as a survey has shown. In the survey by Marketagent.com, 20.4 percent said they would refrain from relatives’ gatherings altogether this time, and “on all of them.” Nearly 30 percent of 500 men and women between the ages of 14 and 75 who were representatively surveyed said, “I will forgo at least…

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The coronavirus vaccination strategy in Austria is available online today on the Ministry of Health website COVID-19-Impfung (sozialministerium.at). According to the graphic and a document dated Dec. 9, there will be three vaccination phases in 2021. The first phase will cover January and February 2021, and here vaccines will be available on a limited basis, according to the Ministry of Health. The target group for this phase will be residents of nursing and retirement homes, as well as healthcare workers and people with certain pre-existing conditions. New vaccination sites depending…

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In the future, personal registrations can be done in the catering and hotel industry as well as in sports facilities, leisure and cultural facilities as well as hospitals and old people’s homes. An amendment to that effect is expected to be passed by the Austrian Parliament on Friday. The police will also be given the authority to check in homes for compliance with quarantine, for example. The reason given for the registrations is that this data could be necessary for tracing contacts. The rule is limited until the middle of…

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The approval of a Covid 19 vaccine is imminent: The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has announced that it will decide on the approval of the BioNTech/ Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for the EU on December 29 and January 12, respectively. But does the vaccination really bring the turning point in the pandemic? Experts talked about this in a background discussion. There will be no compulsory vaccination in Austria – Clemens Martin Auer, Covid Special Representative in the Ministry of Health, emphasized this once again. This also applies to people who…

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In the birthplace of Jesus, in Bethlehem, the lights on the Christmas tree in the manger square are on, as they are every year. Only the pilgrims are missing. Due to high infection rates, there is a curfew at night and on weekends. This year, only a handful of local Christians are also allowed to attend Mass at the Church of the Nativity. ItalyFrom December 21 to January 6, Italians are not allowed to leave their home region. Travel between Lombardy and Tuscany, for example, is prohibited. And anyone who…

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Before the EU summit today, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) expressed his hope that vaccinations against coronavirus will soon be available in Europe. “The earlier we can start vaccinating in the EU, the better. Because every day of a pandemic in Europe currently means thousands of deaths, severe economic damage and countless people fearing for their jobs,” Kurz explained in a statement. Another topic of the two-day EU summit in Brussels will be an exchange on the current CoV situation. Kurz thanked EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for the…

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SARS-CoV-2 was probably already in circulation in Milan in November 2019. ORF.at reports that this has been determined by physicians who have now re-examined a smear taken from a boy admitted to a hospital in Milan with breathing difficulties. According to orf.at, the four-year-old boy, who had coughed heavily, had been tested for measles in the hospital. The smear was kept in the laboratory at minus 80 degrees and these days researchers from the University of Milan checked for the corona virus. They found that the child was infected with…

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The Federal Government informed in a press foyer about the current developments about the COVID v19 situation in Austria. The lockdown had worked well, but because of Christmas Austria is now facing the most difficult four weeks ever, Anschober began his analysis. “We expect that there is still a noticeable reduction”. At the same time, the minister urges caution: new infections from today will not be reflected in the statistics for another two weeks. “The direction is right, but it is extremely too high,” said Anschober with regard to the…

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The German government plans a hard lockdown until January 10th – this includes the abolition of compulsory education. The members of the National Academy of Sciences “Leopoldina” in Germany plead for a hard lockdown – and the German government wants to follow. In the statement of the “Leopoldina” it says: “Use the holidays and the turn of the year for a hard lockdown”. This is to be done via a “two-stage procedure. The general conditions – Christmas vacations in educational institutions and restricted operations in many companies and public authorities…

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