Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Monday
Find out what's going on in Austria on Monday with The Local's short roundup of today's important news.
Children to be vaccinated over the summer
Children aged 12 to 15-years in Austria will be vaccinated in July and August, Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein, told broadcaster ORF at the weekend. He also promised that testing for Covid-19 would remain free over the summer and said he favoured installing air filters in schools.
READ MORE: EU approves use of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in children 12 and over in Europe
Five million vaccinations administered in Austria
More than five million vaccinations have been administered in Austria. According to the Ministry of Health, 3.59 million people in Austria have received at least one first vaccination, and of these 1.49 million have complete vaccination protection against Covid-19. However, despite this progress, more than half of the population eligible to be vaccinated in Austria has not had a first jab.
Sputnik decision ‘not expected until autumn’
Due to a lack of data, a decision on the approval of the Russian corona vaccine Sputnik V in the EU is not expected in Germany until September at the earliest, according to the newspaper Bild am Sonntag, citing government circles in Berlin. Austria has bought one million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, as The Local reported earlier in the year
READ MORE: Austria rejects emergency approval for Russia’s Sputnik vaccine
Separation notices not valid for Green Pass
In Austria, currently a "separation notice” ( Absonderungsbescheid) can be used to prove that you have recovered from Covid-19 and avoid the testing requirement to enter venues and events. This is a notice issued by the medical officer in Austria which means an employee has to stay at home in quarantine for 10 days on full pay. However, this will not be accepted for the EU’s Green Pass, to travel abroad. Instead, to prove you have recovered from Covid-19, you must have a certificate registered in the epidemiological reporting system (EMS), where all known infections with the SARS-CoV-2 virus are recorded.
Loss of short term working will lead to job losses
Short-time working support must be reduced and this will lead to job losses, says labor market boss Johannes Kopf, in an interview with the ZiB programme on Sunday. The economy is picking up speed. At the beginning of 2021 there were 110,000 more unemployed people in Austria in a comparison with 2019, now there are "only" 51,000 additional unemployed.
Seven day incidence at 38.3
The seven-day incidence, or the number of new infections with the coronavirus in the past seven days per 100,000 inhabitants, is 38.3. With the exception of Vorarlberg (82.3), all federal states are now below 50 - with Burgenland (23.1) still having the lowest value.
Health federalism ‘led to problems’ in the pandemic
Viennese health economists Maria Hofmarcher and Christopher Singhuber found health federalism in Austria led to problems during the pandemic - especially with contact tracing, and also led to different vaccination policies in each state, in a report by Die Presse newspaper.
ÖVP politicians accused of giving false statements
Head of the cabinet Bernhard Bonelli and ex-ÖVP vice-party chairwoman Bettina Glatz-Kremsner are suspected of giving false statements to a U-Committee, which is punishable with a prison sentence of up to three years. The suspicions concern the state holding Öbag and its supervisory board and sole director Thomas Schmid, Der Standard newspaper reports.
ÖVP faction leader attacks prosecutor’s office
The faction leader of the ÖVP in the “Ibiza” investigation committee, Andreas Hanger, accused the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office [WKStA] yesterday of wanting to investigate out of a desire for revenge against ÖVP justice spokeswoman Michaela Steinacker. Opposition parties said the attacks by the ÖVP were destroying trust in the rule of law, broadcaster ORF reports.
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Children to be vaccinated over the summer
Children aged 12 to 15-years in Austria will be vaccinated in July and August, Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein, told broadcaster ORF at the weekend. He also promised that testing for Covid-19 would remain free over the summer and said he favoured installing air filters in schools.
READ MORE: EU approves use of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in children 12 and over in Europe
Five million vaccinations administered in Austria
More than five million vaccinations have been administered in Austria. According to the Ministry of Health, 3.59 million people in Austria have received at least one first vaccination, and of these 1.49 million have complete vaccination protection against Covid-19. However, despite this progress, more than half of the population eligible to be vaccinated in Austria has not had a first jab.
Sputnik decision ‘not expected until autumn’
Due to a lack of data, a decision on the approval of the Russian corona vaccine Sputnik V in the EU is not expected in Germany until September at the earliest, according to the newspaper Bild am Sonntag, citing government circles in Berlin. Austria has bought one million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, as The Local reported earlier in the year
READ MORE: Austria rejects emergency approval for Russia’s Sputnik vaccine
Separation notices not valid for Green Pass
In Austria, currently a "separation notice” ( Absonderungsbescheid) can be used to prove that you have recovered from Covid-19 and avoid the testing requirement to enter venues and events. This is a notice issued by the medical officer in Austria which means an employee has to stay at home in quarantine for 10 days on full pay. However, this will not be accepted for the EU’s Green Pass, to travel abroad. Instead, to prove you have recovered from Covid-19, you must have a certificate registered in the epidemiological reporting system (EMS), where all known infections with the SARS-CoV-2 virus are recorded.
Loss of short term working will lead to job losses
Short-time working support must be reduced and this will lead to job losses, says labor market boss Johannes Kopf, in an interview with the ZiB programme on Sunday. The economy is picking up speed. At the beginning of 2021 there were 110,000 more unemployed people in Austria in a comparison with 2019, now there are "only" 51,000 additional unemployed.
Seven day incidence at 38.3
The seven-day incidence, or the number of new infections with the coronavirus in the past seven days per 100,000 inhabitants, is 38.3. With the exception of Vorarlberg (82.3), all federal states are now below 50 - with Burgenland (23.1) still having the lowest value.
Health federalism ‘led to problems’ in the pandemic
Viennese health economists Maria Hofmarcher and Christopher Singhuber found health federalism in Austria led to problems during the pandemic - especially with contact tracing, and also led to different vaccination policies in each state, in a report by Die Presse newspaper.
ÖVP politicians accused of giving false statements
Head of the cabinet Bernhard Bonelli and ex-ÖVP vice-party chairwoman Bettina Glatz-Kremsner are suspected of giving false statements to a U-Committee, which is punishable with a prison sentence of up to three years. The suspicions concern the state holding Öbag and its supervisory board and sole director Thomas Schmid, Der Standard newspaper reports.
ÖVP faction leader attacks prosecutor’s office
The faction leader of the ÖVP in the “Ibiza” investigation committee, Andreas Hanger, accused the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office [WKStA] yesterday of wanting to investigate out of a desire for revenge against ÖVP justice spokeswoman Michaela Steinacker. Opposition parties said the attacks by the ÖVP were destroying trust in the rule of law, broadcaster ORF reports.
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