The corona numbers in Austria are rising steadily. The measures are tightened and Chancellor Kurz warns of tough months, but also sees an end to the crisis.
Will everything go back to normal in 2021? Sebastian Kurz, Chancellor of Austria, is optimistic.
© Herbert P. Oczeret / dpa / picture alliance
- The number of infections in the coronavirus pandemic * is also increasing rapidly in Austria .
- The Ministry of Health wanted last week, the "trial operation" of the " Corona traffic light "record, tape.
- Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is now planning to tighten the hygiene rules again significantly: in all public spaces - including shops and bars - masks must then be worn again.
Update from August 27, 1:26 p.m .: In Austria, employees in restaurants , campsites and youth hostels can now voluntarily undergo a corona test up to once a week . The program, which was previously limited to employees in the hotel industry , is now being expanded, said Tourism Minister Elisabeth Köstinger (ÖVP) on Thursday in Vienna.
An expansion to include tour guides , tour guides and ski instructors is also planned . "That makes sense for the winter," said Köstinger. Around 150 million euros are available for the program by the end of the year . In the meantime, the willingness to participate has grown significantly, according to the hotel industry association.
Update from August 27th, 10:00 a.m .: Although the coronavirus numbers continue to rise in Austria , Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is optimistic. In summer 2021 everything should go back to normal, but it will be a few difficult months before then.
As the Austrian daily newspaper Kurier reports, Sebastian Kurz estimates that Austria "according to the current state of knowledge, will return to normal by summer 2021 ", after all 165 vaccines against the coronavirus are being researched. In his speech next Friday in Vienna he will talk about restrictions , risks but also about the end of the pandemic . He already announced points in advance. “We are facing a difficult autumn and winter,” oe24 quotes the Austrian Chancellor .
I would like to thank Josef Penninger for the good conversation about the current status of his research on a drug against # COVID19. pic.twitter.com/s8JT8mEQ41
- Sebastian Kurz (@sebastiankurz) August 24, 2020Sebastian Kurz had interrupted his vacation and used the last few days to get advice from various experts from the pharmaceutical industry , research , business and politics . On Twitter , for example, he thanked researcher Josef Penninger and author Yuval Noah Harari and shared pictures from various meetings.
Update from August 26, 2020, 6:55 p.m .: Vienna is increasingly becoming the epicenter of the corona pandemic in Austria - and not just politically. In the Alpine republic, a total of 327 new infections were reported within one day on Wednesday, with 178 more than half of the new cases come from the capital (54.4 percent).
The distribution of the 327 new corona infections in Austria
Burgenland: 4
Carinthia: 5
Lower Austria: 22
Upper Austria: 49
Salzburg: 18
Styria: 12
Tyrol: 33
Vorarlberg: 6
Vienna: 178
In a nationwide comparison, Vienna, with the new positive findings on the previous day per 100,000 inhabitants (8.96), is behind the districts of Rohrbach (Upper Austria / 15.92), Wels (Upper Austria / 12.96), Perg (Upper Austria / 10.23) and Kufstein (Tyrol / 9.12).
Corona in Austria: Vienna City Council worries about "massive infection pressure" in autumn
Update from August 26, 2020, 1:52 p.m.: Peter Hacker, Vienna City Councilor for Social Affairs, Health and Sport, fears for good reason that especially those returning from Croatia could push the number of coronavirus infections in Austria up further. Because regions of the popular holiday destination are repeatedly declared risk areas.
Hacker fears the new, “massive infection pressure” in autumn that returnees from risk areas in Austria could trigger. Current figures are also fueling his fear: The inner Austrian district list already lists two districts with over 60 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants: Wels-Stadt and Steyr-Stadt . According to the German traffic light model , both districts would already be switched to "red". Vienna would also be "yellow" on the German Corona traffic light with a value of over 40.
Within Vienna, however, there are already several districts - including Favoriten , Fünfhaus and Ottakring - with a value of over 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants, as OE24 reported at the beginning of the week. The federal government does not want to relate the bills to the individual districts - but the Ministry of Health does. The Corona Commission should therefore meet on Thursday and renegotiate the traffic light system . A power struggle between the federal government and the federal states is already emerging.
Corona: Half a year of living with the corona virus - In the video Austria draws the interim balance:
Coronavirus in Austria: Chancellor Kurz with tightened measures - which also affects tourists
First report from August 26, 2020 at 11:31 am: The Austrian Ministry of Health would have preferred to start the test operation of the "Corona traffic light" earlier, now the "test run" could become an emergency Model students in terms of safety measures in the coronavirus pandemic * are no longer living up to their expectations. The republic is now on a par with Europe's problem child Sweden, as statistics from the EU health authority (ECDC) show.
To date, Austria has officially recorded a total of 25,706 coronavirus infections , of which 21,888 have recoveredand 733 people have died , this is currently based on the figures from Johns Hopkins University. Most of the dead were in the state capital Vienna. As the Österreichisches Volksblatt reported on Tuesday, there are currently 3,085 active cases in Austria .
According to OE24.at, the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is planning to tighten the safety and hygiene rules * again this week , regardless of the discussions about the start of the traffic light test run . The consequence for all Austrians and also the many travelers from all over Europe *: Mask compulsory in all public spaces. This means that masks have to be worn again in shops and restaurants .
Coronavirus in Austria: return travelers from Croatia as a danger?
The reason for the explosive nature of the tightening of the coronavirus hygiene rules is the rapidly increasing number of cases over the past few days. These are likely to be significantly influenced by those returning from their vacation in Croatia , because statistically speaking they are said to be 13 times more likely to contract the corona virus than other Austrians.
This was announced by Peter Hacker , Vienna City Councilor for Social Affairs, Health and Sport, at the beginning of the week. His first balance is based on the free tests at the Ernst Happel Stadium : With those returning from Croatia , 1.7 percent of the tests were positive - the value is 13 times higher than initially assumed. Only just under 5,000 people - out of an estimated 40,000 returning travelers to Croatia - took part in the free test offer - Peter Hacker is therefore alarmed by the numbers and now fears a new, “massive infection pressure”. For the same reason, Germany is currently tightening controls * at the border to the south. (cos) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.
In the meantime, British researchers have allegedly discovered a new agent that is said to rapidly reduce the risk of death after a Covid 19 infection: "It could actually save lives."
List of rubric lists: © Herbert P. Oczeret / dpa / picture alliance