125th Anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal: Filipino hero

Dr. Jose Rizal is widely celebrated as a martyr in the Philippines. He was executed by the Spanish Army on Dec. 30, 1896 after being allegedly  to a national secret society. Although Rizal never had connections with secret society, he had published books educating the general public of the Spanish colonial authorities in power at the time. Two books in particular angered the Spanish elite, “Noli me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo.” The Filipino Community in Austria brought a great sense of remembrance  on December 29, 2021 at the Philippine Embassy…

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Fireworks in Vienna: what is allowed, what is prohibited

In view of New Year’s Eve, the Vienna police expressly warns against the use and unauthorized possession of firecrackers and improper use of rockets and other fireworks. Juicy penalties may be imposed. New Year’s Eve fireworks: What is the situation in Austria?Most accidents with pyrotechnics are due to carelessness, and improper use. Especially the careless handling of pyrotechnics obtained illegally from abroad, harbors great potential danger. In the event of violations of the provisions of the Pyrotechnics Act, the user faces, in addition to possible criminal consequences, administrative fines of…

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Larger New Year’s Eve parties only permitted until 10 p.m.

New Year’s Eve parties around the clock are only permitted on a small scale this year – up to ten people. This is because the 10 p.m. curfew also applies to private gatherings – including those that are vaccinated. As already announced, several unvaccinated people are exceptionally allowed to get together at the turn of the year: This New Year’s Eve exception was passed with the current amendment to the Covid 19 Protective Measures Ordinance today in the main committee. The exception for the unvaccinated (who are still in lockdown)…

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Exploding case numbers across Europe: almost 100,000 infections in Italy

Nearly 100,000 coronavirus infections have been recorded in Italy in the past 24 hours on Wednesday. This is a record since the outbreak of the pandemic, Italian health authorities reported. The previous day, there were 78,313. 136 deaths attributed to the coronavirus were also reported. The previous day, there were 202. More than one million coronavirus tests were counted in the past 24 hours, which is also a record. 9.5 percent of those tested were positive. According to Health Secretary Pierpaolo Sileri, more than 60 percent of cases are due…

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WHO warns of collapse of healthcare systems

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of a collapse in health systems because of the Omicron and Delta variants of the coronavirus. “I am deeply concerned that the more contagious Omicron, circulating simultaneously with Delta, is leading to a tsunami of cases,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva on Wednesday. “This is putting, and will continue to put, immense pressure on exhausted health workers and health systems that are on the verge of collapse,” Tedros added. New infections: Highest weekly total since pandemic beganThe…

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Prognostic consortium: Omicron is increasingly hitting home

Omicron will have an increasingly strong impact on coronavirus infection incidence in Austria in the coming days. This is the assumption of the Covid Prognosis Consortium in its preview published on Wedensday. As in the previous week, the panel again points to the significantly higher rate of spread of the omicron variant. A significant increase in the number of cases continues to be forecast, with Vienna initially being particularly affected. According to the consortium, an increase in the 7-day incidence is to be expected. According to the forecast, the current…

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New infections: Worldwide highest weekly value to date

The number of new coronavirus infections worldwide has reached its highest weekly level since the pandemic began. Around the world, an average of more than 935,000 infections per day were detected from Dec. 22-28. This was reported by AFP today with reference to authorities’ data. With a total of 6,550,000 cases within seven days, the coronavirus is currently spreading at an unprecedented rate, according to the AFP count. The previous weekly record was recorded between April 23 and 29. At that time, an average of 817,000 cases per day were…

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3,251 new corona infections in Austria on Wednesday

On Wednesday (December 29, 2021), the number of registered new infections was already back at 3,251 cases. Behind this, as in many other EU countries, is probably the spreading Omicron variant. Meanwhile, hospital-acquired infections continue to decline. New coronavirus infections in the federal states:Burgenland: 93Carinthia: 110Lower Austria: 564Upper Austria: 403Salzburg: 205Styria: 351Tyrol: 481Vorarlberg: 132Vienna: 912 Number of Covid hospital patients decreasesThere are currently 1,147 people in hospital with Covid-19, which is 52 fewer than were reported the previous day. 353 people are being cared for in intensive care units, and…

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2022 will be an expensive year

In the new year, the wave of inflation that has been swelling for months will pile up even higher. Electricity will become more expensive by about 12 euros a month in eastern Austria starting in January. Milk, sausage and other foodstuffs will be increased… Here is an overview of what will become more expensive: Electricity and gas: after a first wave in November, utilities in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland are now raising their tariffs. Fuel: Prices have already risen sharply this year, and the CO2 tax is likely to…

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