Corona virus in Austria: "Corona party" in the Ministry? - "Completely unacceptable"

Austria is successful in the fight against the corona virus and therefore decides to relax it. All developments here in the news ticker.

• Corona crisis : Austria is relaxing its exit restrictions .
• For some time now, the number of newly recovered people has exceeded the number of newly infected people . 
• Here you will find the basic facts about the corona virus * and the corona news from Germany .
• You can also find current case numbers in Germany here as a map *. The following recommendations for corona protective measures * are currently available .

Update of April 19, 5:17 p.m .: Tourism Minister Elisabeth Köstinger may have pushed ahead too far with her proposal to allow citizens from certain countries to enter for summer holidays (entry from 11:14 a.m.). According to the foreign ministry, according to the standard , the opening of the borders will be decided in close coordination with neighboring countries. It was clear that  freedom of travel would remain restricted for a while

Update from April 19, 1:20 p.m .: What has long been valid in Austria could soon also apply in Germany. We are talking about the obligation to wear a mask. Currently, this does not apply nationwide, Saxony has become the first federal state to wear a protective mask. Bavaria will soon follow suit. In the Free State, however, there are politically different opinions about the time - so the free voters demand the mask requirement immediately.  

Update of April 19, 11:14 p.m .: Even if Europe is just at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic , some people are afraid and worried about their summer vacation. You don't need to be a health expert to have the Germans hoping for a beach holiday this year. 

The travel restrictions in Europe set to continue for some time. Nevertheless, a summer trip to one of our neighboring countries could possibly be feasible. This is indicated by Austria's Minister of Tourism Elisabeth Köstinger. 

Update, 10.45 p.m .: A Viennese medical doctor warned against premature euphoria despite the success in the fight against the corona virus and in view of the initial easing of the initial restrictions.

“ Covid-19 is only over when there is a vaccination. Seven billion people are said to be vaccinated. There I see a big security issue, and everything that is cleverly checked takes time, ”said infectiologist Christoph Wenisch from Kaiser-Franz-Josef-Spital in an Ö1 program:“ Normal everyday life only takes place after Covid-19 . That will be at the earliest in 2022 or in the 2023s when the vaccination is there. "

Cure for Corona? The Ebola drug Remdesivir.

© dpa / Ulrich Perrey

In addition, the Ebola drug Remdesivir has yet to prove itself in the treatment of corona patients in the long term.

Corona crisis management brings Chancellor Kurz and ÖVP high spirits

Update of April 18, 10:20 p.m .:  Crisis management in the corona crisis has given Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's ruling  ÖVP a high mood among voters.  

According to the profil Sunday question, the conservative People's Party now comes to 48 percent - and thus increases by a whopping nine percentage points. At the moment, the absolute majority would be within reach for Kurz ' ÖVP . SPÖ and coalition partners The Greens follow by a wide margin (16 percent each).

First report from April 18:

Munich / Vienna - Political mud battle in Vienna , in the middle of the  corona crisis .

A photo caused a lot of excitement in Austria . It shows: Five employees of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, as they stand with drinks on a small balcony, which makes the minimum distances between people impossible.

Corona crisis in Austria: Ministry of Economy in Vienna embarrasses itself

The news portal krone.at reported on the incident - and asked whether it was a “corona party”  .

A blogger published an explosive photo on "Fish and Meat" on Friday. On the balcony of the Federal Ministry for Digitization and Economy by Magarete Schramböck (ÖVP) five employees can be seen crowded with drinks.

A spokesman for the business department called the behavior of the five employees on the ministry balcony on the Vienna Stubenring "completely unacceptable", the report said. But it was not a "corona party".

Corona in Austria: Political mud battle in the middle of the pandemic

Nevertheless, the outcry was great - especially among the opposition. The right-wing conservative FPÖ criticized: "While people are telling people at the daily press conferences that they should stay at home, they celebrate elsewhere."

Economics Minister Margarete Schramböck  (ÖVP)  announced a "quick and hard procedure" on the matter. The embarrassment could no longer prevent this. Meanwhile, the fight against the corona virus continues unabated in Austria .

Corona crisis in Austria: Spectacular rescue operation of coronavirus patient between Vorarlberg and Vienna

In a spectacular rescue operation, a Black Hawk helicopter from the German Army flew a seriously ill corona patient from Bludenz in Vorarlberg, including a flying intensive care unit, to Vienna, 600 kilometers away.

Not an easy task to land at the AKH at night after a long flight with night vision devices. Our pilots flew an intensive care patient from Vorarlberg to the AKH yesterday. #Bundesheer pic.twitter.com/5sBlA8wkz2

The pilots had to land at the hospital at night with special night vision devices. 

There is further good news from the Alpine Republic, in which the first easing of the initial restrictions came into force: The number of patients who have recovered from a corona infection has exceeded the 10,000 mark.

* merkur.de is part of the Germany-wide Ippen-Digital editors network