Austria officially first EU country to make COVID vaccination mandatory

Feb 7 2022

Austrians over the age of 18 will have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Saturday or face the possibility of a heavy fine. The new measure was adopted on January 20th by parliament and came into force last Saturday, a culmination of a process which began in November despite the heavy protest and resistance.

Despite the measure, vaccination in Austria has failed to rise, stagnating at levels below those of even France or Spain. Still, a small uptick in vaccination accumulating to 9% over the previous week was noted by a humanitarian association in Vienna. Almost all parties, except for some far-right parties, supported the measures. The new legislation passed with 137 votes in favour and 33 against it.

To date, 72% of Austrian residents have been fully vaccinated against the virus. This is in line with the European Union-wide average of just more than 70%. Under new law, after an initial ‘introductory’ phase, those holding against the jab can face fines of up to €3,600 from mid-March.

The measure applies to everyone over 18 except for pregnant women and those with medical exemptions. Government wants to cover everyone aged over 14, but this was voted against. Austria has seen almost 14,000 COVID related deaths so far, with 1.5 million cases in a population of around nine million.

#MaltaDaily

Here are the COVID measures easing today

Feb 7 2022

As of today Monday 7th February 2022, vaccine certificates will no longer be mandatory for:

Restaurants
Snack Bars
Band Clubs

Also as of today;

Measure limiting 4 households in homes and private residences will be removed.
Mater Dei visitations will be extended with more details being issued.
Vaccine certificates from Maldives and Jordan will be recognised for travel.

This was announced by Health Minister Chris Fearne late last month. This measure easing will be followed by more removal of restrictions on the 14th of February. This will see vaccine certificates not remaining mandatory for bars, gyms and pools.

14th of February will also allow people with valid certificates coming from dark red countries to quarantine at a reduced period of 10 days.

More measures will be amended, with Fearne outlining a roadmap going well into April. This, however, highly depends on the epidemiological situation – increases in active cases, or more importantly, hospitalisations and deaths, could see a reversal of the measure easing.

Today’s measure easing was also met with considerable critique. After the restrictions came into effect on the 17th of January, the ‘quick’ reversal resulted in many critiquing the health authorities’ decisions, but Fearne defended the easing, saying the cases decreased due to the booster.

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Profiles of a Valentine’s nightmare date | by Ed’s Common Sense

Feb 6 2022

With Valentine’s Day coming up, some of you may be going into a nightmare date without even knowing it and sometimes it’s hard spotting the red flags. Thankfully this week, clinical psychologist and psychotherapist Dr. Edward Curmi is here to highlight some warning signs of a nightmare date for Valentine’s Day.

Too mysterious.
They cannot be found on social media and tend to have difficulty disclosing their personal information to you.

Too clingy.
They quickly express strong feelings of love and even tell you they love you after one date.

Too unreliable.
When push comes to shove they find a million reasons or excuses not to meet you.

Too heavy-going.
They have a lot of emotional baggage and burden you with their personal drama.

Too demanding.
Someone who needs your money. Obviously, someone who tries to hook up with you as they need you to support their financial challenges is clearly a no-no!

Too controlling.
Someone who doesn’t allow you to be yourself and expects your complete attention and devotion whilst expecting you to be at their beck and call when it’s convenient for them.

Send this to someone who’s notorious for going on bad dates.

#MaltaDaily

These are your X-Factor Malta finalists for next Saturday!

Feb 6 2022

After the semi-finals of XFactor Malta, the finalists have been chosen – Cheryl Balzan, Drakard, Lisa Gauci and Ryan Hili.

Timea Farr and Ceci & Kriss were the contestants eliminated. The sister duo and Farr all gave their best performances, but the public had to vote and that meant the three contestants had to go home.

Timea absolutely owned the stage with a deep and mature voice for every night, showing her absolute versatility in sing-off after sing-off, even taking on Adele’s Easy On Me during the semi-final.

Ceci & Kriss brought an intriguing skill to the XFactor stage, becoming an absolute crowd favourite. Their approach to various songs, from local hits to world-renowned tracks, Ceci & Kriss were a force to be reckoned with.

Alas, their elimination meant that Lisa, Drakard, Ryan and Cheryl will be going on to the final night. Lisa will be representing Ivan Grech’s ‘Girls’ category, whereas Ryan and Drakard will be representing Howard Keith’s ‘Boys’.

Cheryl will be representing Ira Losco’s ‘Overs’ category, meaning that Philippa Naudi has no competitors taking on the final. All contestants remaining are absolute power-houses in their own right, and they will be competing for the title of X-Factor Malta next Saturday.

#MaltaDaily