Weekly update: COVID infections rise, memorial to Vienna terror attack unveiled

Coronavirus

Cases are on the rise in Austria, with more than 2,000 daily infections. Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Grüne) emphasised that an easing of restrictions will be very unlikely in light of what he termed an ‘alarming’ situation.
 

Virus. Photo: Gerd Altmann via Pixabay

Statistics have shown that COVID-19 accounted for seven percent of total deaths in Austria last year, being the second most common death cause after chronic heart diseases.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) supports the introduction of an EU-wide ‘green pass’ for the vaccinated.

Vienna memorial

The Mayor of Vienna has unveiled a memorial stone commemorating the victims of last November’s terror attack.

Culture

Austrian author Franzobel presented his new book Die Eroberung Amerikas (The Conquest of America), a novel tracing the far-reaching implications of a conqueror’s greedy actions in 1538. Watch the ORF interview here.

Word of the week

The German word ‘das Brötchen’, ‘bread roll’, is known in Austria as ‘die Semmel’