Austrian News

Gerald Gartlehner, an epidemiologist at Danube University in Krems, gave an alarming interview to ORF Report on Tuesday. He fears that Austria has “wasted some time” in responding to the South Africa cluster in Tyrol, since it has been known for some time “that Tyrol is becoming a hotspot for the South African mutant.” The current measures are “not optimal”. Regional quarantines with regular mass tests would be better. The population could also be “vaccinated as a matter of priority” with a vaccine that is effective against the South African…

German health departments have reported 8072 new Corona infections to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) within one day. In addition, 813 new deaths were recorded within 24 hours, according to figures released by the RKI on Wednesday. These current figures should also include 600 follow-up reports of new infections from North Rhine-Westphalia, which had been missing the previous day, according to the RKI. Exactly a week ago, the RKI had recorded 9705 new infections and 975 new deaths within 24 hours. The peak of 1244 new reported deaths had been…

As of today, Austria has a strict entry regulation in place. In addition to the existing obligation to register and quarantine, entrants must also present a negative Corona test. The result must not be older than 72 hours. If no result can be presented upon entry, a test must be carried out immediately, at the latest within 24 hours. The negative test result must be presented in the event of a check, whereby a check can be carried out anywhere on the spot, for example during a traffic check. Tough…

Tyrol will be sealed off – for at least ten days. After several days of negotiating what countermeasures would make sense, the federal government announced new tightening measures for Tyrol on Tuesday. “The British and the South African mutation unfortunately prevail in Europe,” said Chancellor Sebastian Kurz at a press conference called at short notice. Both variants are more contagious, he said. Above all, however, the South African variant is a challenge in that Astra Zeneca’s vaccine may be less effective against it. As a reminder, Astra Zeneca is the…

With the requirements that come with the recent opening steps in coronavirus measures, the demand for free antigen testing has skyrocketed. A recent negative test result is now mandatory for appointments with body-related service providers, for visits to nursing homes and for employees in some industries. The offer has been significantly expanded – in many regions, however, appointments are still hard to come by. The rush on the first day was so great that the website of the Chamber of Pharmacists, which lists all providers, was temporarily overloaded in the…

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…