Austria is worried about high numbers of Covid-19 cases.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz makes great promises, there is a dispute with Germany.
The news ticker.
Coronavirus pandemic
* in Austria
: The
second corona wave
*
hits the Alpine republic with full force and ensures high
numbers of Covid-19 cases
.
Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP)
presents his
Covid-19
* strategy
for the coming months and promises
with full conviction a return to normality
for
summer 2021
.
This
news ticker
is constantly updated.
Update from November 27th, 3:30 p.m.:
Due to the
Corona crisis,
Austria
has postponed
the
Matura degrees
for 2021 again - and eased the examination requirements for upper school students in the final class.
According to matching media reports, the written Matura exams will not start on May 3rd, but on May 20th.
In addition, subject areas for the oral
Matura could be
shortened, it is said that the presentation of theses is done on a voluntary basis.
+
Destination of many ski fans and winter sports fans: St. Anton am Arlberg.
© Josef Mallaun / dpa
Corona pandemic in Austria: Tyrolean governor sharply criticizes Bavaria's Söder
Update from November 27th, 3 p.m .:
A violent dispute has broken out
between
Germany
and
Austria
over the possible opening of the
ski areas
for winter tourism.
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU)
are putting pressure on their south-eastern German neighbors to keep the ski lifts closed until at least the beginning of January and especially over the Christmas holidays.
After the Austrian
Minister of Tourism Elisabeth Köstinger (ÖVP)
, the Tyrolean governor is now also defending himself against the German demand.
"If the number of infections allows, we will not let Bavaria take our skiing away," said
Günther Platter (ÖVP)
according to
krone.at
in one broadcast.
Söder must also take note of this, said Platter, and advised against doing “politics at the expense of other regions”.
Everyone would lose at the end of the day.
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Corona pandemic in Austria: Rudolf Anschober - Covid 19 numbers must "drop dramatically"
Update from November 27th, 12.30 p.m .: Rudolf “Rudi” Anschober (The Greens)
continues to give the warning
in the
corona pandemic in Austria
- and often uses the word “dramatic”.
The Minister of Health declared on Friday that the
corona numbers
would have to “drop dramatically” even though “the hard lockdown is working”.
During his analysis, Anschober turned his attention once more to the
intensive care units
in the Alpine republic.
As of Friday noon, November 27th,
705 Covid-19 patients were in intensive care beds
.
Comparisons show that this number has been consistently high for weeks.
Corona pandemic in Austria: Violent dispute with Germany over ski areas
Update from November 27, 10:35 a.m.:
In the dispute about the
opening of the ski areas
over the Christmas holidays,
Elisabeth Köstinger
commented on Thursday
in the
ZiB2
program
.
The Austrian
Minister of Tourism
made it clear: "The virus does not spread on the ski slopes, but above all in closed indoor areas." Köstinger rejected the attempts of other countries to start the ski season in January.
"We also do not tell
Italy
what the carnival should look like next year or when
the Louvre will
reopen
in
France
, let alone whether
Germany
should open or close the schools," emphasized the minister.
Köstinger
made it clear: "
We will make the decisions in Austria ourselves
." One always observes the situation in the
health system
and at the same time supports the companies and employees as best as possible.
Corona pandemic in Austria: Chancellor Kurz speaks again about vaccinations
Update from November 26th, 10.30 p.m.: Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP)
visited the
Biotech company Polymun in Klosterneuburg (Lower Austria) again commented on the foreseeable
vaccinations against Corona in Austria
.
“There is a large majority of the population willing to be vaccinated.
I assume that this number will steadily increase when more and more people are vaccinated and you can see that it works safely, ”said the Austrian Chancellor.
The vaccine will "end the pandemic and end the suffering".
According to the news portal
krone.at
, Polymun produces important parts for the vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer.
Corona pandemic in Austria: mass tests for corona infections under high pressure planned
Update from November 26th, 7.30 p.m.: Austria
is working under high pressure to plan the announced mass tests for infections with the insidious
corona
virus
.
As Health Councilor Peter Hacker (SPÖ)
told the
APA
news agency on Thursday
, around
1.2 million Viennese
in the town hall, in the Marxhalle and in the exhibition hall near the Prater are expected to be infected with the
SARS pathogen
between December 2nd and 13th
-CoV-2 to be
tested.
Corona pandemic in Austria: Covid-19 mass tests for 1.2 million Viennese
Corona pandemic
:
1.2 million Viennese are to be tested
for the
corona virus
between December 2 and 13
.
The
armed
forces are supposed to support the health authorities in this mission.
Covid-19 test centers
are the
Wiener Stadthalle
, the Marxhalle and the exhibition hall at the
Wiener Prater
.
A total of 300 test lines will be set up according to the walk-in principle.
Citizens can use these to reach the respective tables at which they are individually
tested
for the
corona
virus.
The
city of Vienna
wants to
test
150,000 people for the
corona
virus
every day
.
+
Vienna is preparing for the mass testing of 1.2 million citizens.
Here the Prater in the foreground.
© Peter Rigaud / dpa
The federal capital
Vienna
has been
a Covid-19 hotspot
since the beginning of the
coronavirus pandemic
.
A total of around 1.9 million people live in the metropolis on the Danube.
Update from November 26th, 5 p.m.:
At the beginning of the
coronavirus pandemic
*,
Ischgl
in
Tyrol
is
the focus as a super spreader.
Now the 2020/21 winter season threatens
to flop completely
due to
Covid-19
- and there is malice from a satirist.
The reaction will follow immediately (see link).
Coronavirus pandemic in Austria: high number of unreported corona infections
Update from November 26th, 3:30 p.m.:
According to the latest surveys,
Austria is
currently
struggling
with a high number of unreported
corona infected people
.
This is shown according to
courier
the first intermediate results of the national
Covid-19 prevalence study
, the
statistics Austria
performs.
This was commissioned by the
Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research
in cooperation with the national
Red Cross
and the
Medical University of Vienna
.
7823 people aged 16 and over living in private households were tested.
Of these, a nasopharynx swab was taken from November 12th to 14th in 2263.
48 of these people tested positive, and a further 24 were already in
officially ordered quarantine
at the time of the test
.
A total of 72
sample people were
infected with the coronavirus between November 12 and 14.
If you extrapolate the total number of infections, the number of
infections
in the period was 228,000.
According to the test persons, less than half (around 103,000) were recorded by the authorities.
“The comparatively high number of unreported cases shows us that instruments such as the upcoming
mass tests are
urgently needed to break the chains of infection and curb the spread of the pandemic.
Asymptomatic people are also infectious and can pass the virus on.
With the mass testing, we want to locate as many of these people as possible so that they cannot infect other people, ”said
Heinz Faßmann
, the Federal Minister for Education, Science and Research.
Corona in Austria: mask disaster in the neighboring country?
Update from November 26th, 12:38 pm:
“What else has to happen before Health Minister
Anschober
, who is
completely overwhelmed with his office,
finally resigns?
This is the limit!
The
Chancellor
has to
pull
the
emergency brake
,
dismiss Minister Anschober
and appoint an expert as Minister of Health, ”demands the party leader of the right-wing populist FPÖ,
Norbert Hofer
.
What happened?
On Wednesday the
ORF
news program “ZIB2”
reported
that
defective protective masks
from China had been distributed to health facilities
in Austria
.
According to the report on the Red Cross, the Ministry of Health
ordered
ten million FFP2 masks
in China and distributed them to
old people's and nursing homes
in
Austria
.
Only one batch was
tested in advance
and found to be good.
Allegedly only after information from a federal state on the
poor quality
was tested again.
The result: the masks tested from the other batch were,
at best, mouth and nose protection
.
“I am
stunned
that the delivery was
not checked
before it was distributed to the federal states
and that a small sample of a single batch was relied on.
With this carelessness human lives were endangered
”, emphasized Hofer.
Health Minister
Anschober (Greens) is
responsible for this
.
Corona in Austria: mass tests are taking place earlier than originally planned
Update from November 26th, 10:45 am:
The
mass
tests
announced
by Chancellor
Sebastian Kurz
and Minister of Health
Rudolf Anschober
in December will
take place earlier than originally planned
in large parts of
Austria
.
The fixed
start dates of
the individual federal states at a glance:
Tyrol:
December 4th to 6th
Vorarlberg
: December 4th to 6th
Salzburg:
December 12th and 13th
Upper Austria:
December 12th and 13th
Carinthia:
December 12th and 13th
Austria's
federal government
originally planned
to test
individual occupational groups
across Austria.
First
teachers and kindergarten teachers
(December 5th / 6th), then the
police
(December 7th / 8th).
Shortly before Christmas, around December 19 and 20, the entire
remaining population
.
It is important to note that
mass tests are not a panacea
, but provide a snapshot,
Kurz
said
on Wednesday in
Vienna
.
"They are not the only solution that does not exist, but there is a good chance of localizing infections in the population and preventing further infections."
The aim
is
to find
as many
undiscovered infected people
as possible
in time for
family reunions
for
Christmas
.
Mass tests are important to localize infections & prevent contagion.
I am also pleased to confirm that we will be able to carry out the first vaccinations in January 2021, because every vaccination is a step towards victory over the pandemic!
- Sebastian Kurz (@sebastiankurz) November 25, 2020
Corona in Austria: visits by grandparents are prohibited
Update from November 25, 6:25 p.m.:
On Wednesday, the
main committee
in the Austrian
National Council
discussed
the extension of the
corona measures
.
The changes were further specified and more precisely defined who belongs to “close relatives” and who can therefore be visited individually.
"Parents, children and siblings" fall under this
exception
, as the
Wiener Zeitung
reports.
Grandparents and grandchildren do not count as “close relatives” and are not allowed to meet.
Another exception applies to “close
relatives
” - people you meet more often every week.
In this case, however, visits are only allowed if you have already had “physical contact”.
Grandparents
who had previously
looked after
their
grandchildren
could continue to do so.
Corona in Austria: "Sufficient vaccines for eight million people" secured
Update from November 25th, 3:30 p.m.:
More and more details about the
corona vaccinations in Austria
are
becoming
known.
According to
krone.at
, the "procurement of sufficient
vaccines
for eight million people" is guaranteed.
The news portal relies on a strategy paper from the Council of Ministers.
According to estimates,
Austria
has around 8.9 million inhabitants.
Presale contracts have been concluded with five manufacturers of vaccines, and negotiations are currently underway with two more, the report says.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) announced
in the morning that
vaccination
against the
SARS-CoV-2 pathogen could be carried out
across the board in the Alpine republic from January
.
Corona pandemic in Austria: mass tests start in Vorarlberg and Tyrol
Update from November 25th, 1:15 p.m
.:
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP)
declared this Wednesday where
mass tests for the insidious
corona virus
* should
start
in
Austria
- in
Vorarlberg
and
Tyrol
.
Starting next weekend.
For example, on the border with
Germany
on
Lake Constance
, in the small towns of
Dornbirn
and
Bregenz,
according to the
7-day incidence
*,
the infection
rate
has been very high for weeks.
"Even after the lockdown has ended, the number of infections in the west will unfortunately be very high," said Kurz, referring to the Austrian map.
The
second corona lockdown
in the Alpine republic will last until December 6th.
Corona pandemic in Austria: Sebastian Kurz - "The vaccination becomes the game changer"
First report from November 25th:
Munich / Vienna - "The
vaccination
will be the game changer, the chance
to defeat
the
pandemic
."
With these pathetic words,
Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) Austria
promised
a foreseeable end to the
coronavirus pandemic *
"after a long dry spell"
and named an exact time for it.
The head of government from
Vienna
said that he
had been asked
whether he could meet his forecast for
a normal life from summer 2021
.
Corona pandemic in Austria: Chancellor Sebastian Kurz promises the end of the pandemic
"I am very pleased to be able to confirm to you today that this perspective will materialize," said the 34-year-old politician at a press conference this Wednesday, November 25th.
He and the Council of Ministers had decided on a
Corona * strategy
for
Austria
for the coming months "in order to really defeat the pandemic with the vaccination".
In addition to large-scale
vaccinations against the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen,
no less extensive
mass tests
for the virus in professional sectors and even in entire federal states are at the
center of this strategy
.
In January, the
vaccinations should start in Austria
, said Kurz.
The Chancellor promptly put a damper on things: “Even if the vaccination is very close, that does not mean that everyone can be vaccinated in January.
We still have tough months ahead of us, ”said the Austrian head of government and warned.
Corona pandemic in Austria: Chancellor Sebastian Kurz does not rule out further lockdowns
Furthermore, every chance must now be seized "to prevent further lockdowns or at least to shorten them".
Kurz
did not
rule out
new
lockdowns
until summer 2021.
Therefore, at the end of his press conference, he also made an appeal to the citizens of the Alpine republic: “Everything is better than lockdowns that are too long or too hard.
Every vaccination is a step towards more normalcy, every vaccination is a step towards victory against the pandemic. "
Follow all developments
regarding the corona pandemic in Austria
here in the
news ticker
.
(pm)
* Merkur.de is part of the Germany-wide Ippen-Digital editors network
List of rubric lists: © Josef Mallaun / dpa