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Information board in Austria: From next Tuesday, strict exit restrictions will apply again
Photo: Fotokerschi.At / dpa
More than 7,000 new corona cases were last reported in Austria a day.
This means that the numbers in the country continue to rise unchecked - and that although stricter measures have been in place in the fight against the pandemic for a good two weeks.
With the partial shutdown imposed on November 3, the government had hoped to bring the infection numbers under control.
But it doesn't look like that at the moment.
Now adjustments have been made again in Vienna.
A collapse of the health system is to be prevented with significantly stricter rules.
From next Tuesday, Austria will go into lockdown for the second time.
"Even if nobody wants a second lockdown, the second lockdown is the only means that we know reliably that it will work," said Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) at a press conference in the afternoon.
The comprehensive exit restrictions will come into force on November 17th.
These should then initially apply up to and including December 6th.
During this period Austria closes schools and shops again.
Exceptions apply to grocery stores, pharmacies and drug stores.
The currently applicable night curfews will be extended to the whole day with a few exceptions.
"These measures are extremely drastic," said Kurz.
But you want to make sure that the lockdown is strong enough so that the number of infections would also drop quickly.
"This is the only way we can prevent our health system from being overwhelmed."
The goal is to be able to reopen schools and trade on December 7th.
"The more people stick to what is given here, the shorter this state of affairs will last," emphasized Kurz.
This is how you can save Christmas.
"We therefore need an emergency stop and really immediately."
Austria's Minister of Health Rudolf Anschober (Greens)
Gastronomy, tourism, cultural and leisure facilities in Austria have been closed for a good two weeks.
Exit restrictions previously applied from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
However, the number of infections initially continued to rise in the first half of November.
On Friday, the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within 7 days was 554.2, in individual regions even up to 850.
The target value for new infections within seven days is less than a tenth of the current value, said Kurz.
Authorities are now unable to trace 77 percent of new infections.
Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens) said that statistically, every person infected with corona is currently infecting 1.2 other people.
This so-called reproduction number must be reduced to 0.9.
Anschober warned that the health system was reaching its limits in many areas.
"So we need an emergency stop and really immediately," he said.
The braking distance - the time until a sustainable reduction in the numbers - is two weeks.
Opposition accuses government of losing control
The hospitals are already facing the limit, as the country's top intensive care doctor warned again on Saturday.
"If the whole thing should increase at this rate in the next few days, we will face a situation of triage," said the President of the Austrian Society for Anesthesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care Medicine, Klaus Markstaller.
Doctors would then have to choose which patients can be treated in intensive care.
In Austria there is now a discussion about how the country could get into this situation.
The government had repeatedly emphasized that it wanted to prevent a lockdown by all possible means.
Health Minister Anschober had practically ruled out such strict measures almost exactly a month ago.
The opposition parties are now accusing the government of losing control.
"Now all Austrians get the bill for the management failure of the federal government," said the head of the Social Democrats, Pamela Rendi-Wagner.
The government neglected contact tracking and left the federal states and hospitals alone in preparing the intensive care units.
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asc / dpa / AFP