Category: General Interest

The tense situation in local hospitals is now causing the authorities to consider a ban on fireworks on New Year’s Eve. In Upper Austria there is already a corresponding push. New Year’s Eve is still about six weeks away, but in Upper Austria a possible ban on fireworks is already being discussed. Similarly as for example in the Netherlands or some provinces of Belgium the end for firecrackers could come also in this country this year. The background is that the tense corona situation in the domestic hospitals should not…

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At the G20 summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered the international community broad access to the “Sputnik-V” vaccine developed in Russia. His country supported the G20 summit’s decision to make the vaccine available to the entire population of the planet, the 68-year-old said on Saturday at the meeting, which was organized by host Saudi Arabia as a video conference. Russia is ready to make its self-developed vaccines – three different vaccines – available to needy states. Competition among the vaccine manufacturers is inevitable, Putin said. But first of all, the…

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Since the start of the tightened lockdown on Tuesday, the police have penalized 796 violations of the measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic in Austria up to and including yesterday. In 617 cases there were charges and in 171 cases organ mandates according to the Covid 19 measures law, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. Eight further organ mandates were imposed under the Epidemic Law. In Vienna yesterday, among others, the operator of a punch stand was reported. The punch was sold from a store at the Graben in…

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Only ten percent of infections are asymptomatic.On Friday the Corona Commission published its indicators for the risk classification for the currently valid traffic light system – all of Austria remains red. The indicators show that, according to the latest data for calendar week 46 from November 9 to 15, the source of infection was unknown in 81 percent of SARS-CoV-2 cases throughout Austria, and in only 19 percent of cases – i.e. less than a fifth – was the infection clarified. In Upper Austria only 9 percent clarifiedUpper Austria and…

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Although the approval is still the great unknown, from the schedules of the manufacturers of the seven vaccines for which there are contracts, it is realistic that by the summer there will be so much available that anyone in Austria who wishes to be vaccinated can be vaccinated, said Clemens Martin Auer, Covid Special Representative in the Ministry of Health, on Friday in the ORF Lunchtime Journal. The first vaccines could already arrive in January. First old people’s homes and nursing homesHowever, this depends on the European regulatory authority. Here,…

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The first corona mass tests are scheduled to start as early as the beginning of December. First of all, teachers are to be tested. In a first step, 7 million rapid antigen tests have already been ordered. Everyone should have the right to one or two tests, in a second phase further tests will be ordered. The costs are estimated at 500 million euros behind closed doors. “Cheaper than a lockdown,” is what the government is saying. Slovakia has succeeded in reducing the replication factor (who infects how many) from…

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The World Health Organization (WHO) complains of a growing number of corona deaths in Europe. In the past two weeks, the number of deaths associated with Covid-19 disease has increased by 18 percent, said Hans Kluge, Director of the WHO European Region, on Thursday. More than 29,000 deaths were recorded last week, which means that every 17 seconds one person in the European Region dies from Covid-19. The fact that 4,500 lives are currently lost to Covid-19 per day is avoidable, said Kluge. Those who adhere to guidelines and take…

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According to a report, the World Health Organization (WHO) advises against the use of the once promising drug Remdesivir for covid-19 diseases. After careful consideration, a WHO panel of experts concluded that the drug “has no significant impact on mortality or other important effects on patients, such as the need for artificial respiration or the time to recovery,” wrote the British Medical Journal. The article, which was published on Friday, also stated that it was not excluded that the drug could also cause harm. And then there are the costs.…

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The Mainz-based biotech company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer have cleared the decisive hurdle for a possible approval of their corona vaccine in the USA. After a final analysis of the pivotal study, the vaccine has shown a 95 percent protection against Covid-19, the two companies announced on Wednesday. This protection was also achieved in people over 60 years of age, who are considered a particularly vulnerable group. The data on the safety profile of the drug are convincing, the companies added. They now plan to submit the necessary…

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