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The number of new corona infections has continued to decline in Austria. According to the Ministry of Health and Interior, 1,429 people have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the last 24 hours. That put the number even below the seven-day average of 1,896, which isn’t surprising given the holidays. With 17,384 tests recorded in one day, 8.2 percent tested positive. The third blockade started in Austria at Stefanitag.
From December 26 to January 17 inclusive, private gatherings are only allowed to a limited extent. Several people from a household can only know one person from another. Exit restrictions apply again throughout the day. You can only leave home for specific reasons, for example, to go to work, help others, go shopping, take a walk, take animals or play sports outdoors. Once again, commercial and body-friendly services such as hair salons will be closed. After January 17, there will be relief only for those who have previously tested the corona virus.
The lockdown is intended to further reduce the rapid rise in fall. On November 13, a maximum of 9,586 new infections were registered. As a result, the number of those who were hospitalized and those who died increased considerably.
In the last 24 hours, 60 people in Austria have died from the corona virus. A total of 5,843 people did not survive the consequences of an infection. The seven-day average is still 90.6 deaths.
There are currently 2,455 in the hospital with a corona infection, that is, one more patient than on Christmas Day. There were 431 Covid-19 patients in the country’s intensive care units in Stefanitag, 22 more than the day before. On November 25, the maximum number of patients in intensive care was measured, as 709 had to be treated in intensive care.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 350,484 people in Austria have been infected with SARS-CoV-2. 320,753 have recovered from an infection. Currently 23,888 are suffering from an infection (as of: Stefanitag 9.30am), that is, 1,230 less than on Christmas day. The seven-day incidence (the number of new infections in seven days per 100,000 population) continued to decline from 158.9 to 149.1.
The majority of new infections in the last 24 hours were in Lower Austria with 334, followed by Vienna with 301, Upper Austria with 233, Salzburg with 178, Styria with 116, Tirol with 91, Vorarlberg with 65, Carinthia with 59 and Burgenland with 52 new infections.
New variant now also tested in Spain
The variant of the coronavirus discovered in Great Britain has now also been detected in Spain. In Madrid, the mutation was found in four people, said the Deputy Minister of Health of the capital region, Antonio Zapatero, at a press conference this Saturday. All four infected people recently entered the UK.
None of the four infected people have serious symptoms, Zapatero said. “We know that this variant is more easily transmitted, but it does not lead to more serious diseases.” There is nothing to worry about. In three other suspected cases, test results are still pending.
The British government reported last weekend that a variant of SARS-CoV-2 had spread in parts of England, which could be significantly more contagious than the original variant. This had caused concern around the world. More than 50 states imposed entry bans on Great Britain. Since Tuesday, Spain has only allowed its own compatriots and people residing in Spain to enter from Great Britain.
A first case of the virus mutation was discovered in Germany on Thursday. On Saturday night, French authorities also reported a first case of infection with the variant of the coronavirus.
Experts assume that the Biontech and Pfizer corona vaccine, which has now been approved throughout the EU, is also effective against the new variant of the virus. The first doses of the vaccine reached many parts of the EU on Saturday. In Spain, the first delivery was received in Guadalajara, as announced by the Ministry of Health. From there, the cans will be distributed to the 17 autonomous communities. The vaccination campaign across the EU starts on Sunday.
14,455 new infections in Germany on Christmas Day
German health authorities reported a total of 14,455 new corona infections on Christmas Day. In addition, 240 more deaths were recorded, as announced Saturday morning by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Since the RKI expected fewer tests and fewer reports from health authorities during the holidays, these numbers are only partially comparable to the values of the previous week.
Last Saturday (December 19), 31,300 new infections were reached in one day, one of the highest values to date. The highest number of deaths of 952 was recorded on Wednesday of last week (December 16).
The number of new infections reported to health authorities in seven days per 100,000 inhabitants (incidence in seven days) was 171 on Saturday morning, and reached its highest level on Tuesday with 197.6. However, the differences between federal states are huge: Saxony had the highest incidence on Saturday with 404 and Thuringia with 303, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had the lowest value with 83.
Since the start of the pandemic, the RKI has counted 1,627,103 infections detected by SARS-CoV-2 in Germany (as of December 26, 00.00 am). The total number of people who died with or with a proven SARS-CoV-2 infection rose to 29,422 as of Saturday. The RKI stated the number of people who had recovered at around 1,223,700.
More than three million infections in Russia
In Russia, the number of people infected with corona has risen above the three million mark since the start of the pandemic. This is clear from the official statistics published in the capital Moscow on Saturday. Consequently, there were 29,200 new infections nationwide in one day. So far, more than 54,200 people have died from the virus; there were more than 560 deaths in 24 hours alone.
According to the authorities, Moscow and the port city of Saint Petersburg in the north of the country are the most affected. The government hopes to control the pandemic with vaccines developed by Russian researchers. Vaccines with the active ingredient “Sputnik V” have been in the works since the beginning of the month, which was the world’s first corona vaccine approved for wide use despite concerns from international researchers. According to the authorities, more than 300,000 people have been vaccinated so far.
According to state television, the Ministry of Health has approved that people over 60 can also receive “Sputnik V”. More than a week ago, the 68-year-old Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin said he still couldn’t get vaccinated because “Sputnik V” was only approved for people up to 60 years old.
Two corona vaccines for humans have already been launched in Russia. More is in development (Apa / dpa / reuters)
