Despite falling corona numbers, the level of infection in Austria is too high.
The government is restricting the planned easing over the holidays.
Does a test now follow?
After the
second wave * of
the
corona pandemic *,
Austria's Chancellor
Sebastian Kurz
warns of the
third wave
in the new year.
A general relaxation of the measures in
Austria
is not in sight.
The government is planning a second round of
corona mass tests
in January.
This news ticker is updated regularly.
Update from December 12th, 7:20 p.m.:
Austria is increasingly
relying
on
corona tests
due to the continued high number of cases
.
Further
mass tests are to
take place
from January 8th to 10th
.
As
Oe24.at
reported, participation should apparently be
increased
through
incentives
.
"We are currently also reviewing the need for and usefulness of incentive models," the Ministry of Social Affairs is quoted as saying.
Vouchers or even cash payments should be discussed here.
Like Chancellor
Sebastian Kurz
via Twitter, occupational groups are to be defined "that have to test every two weeks".
According to
Oe24.at
"contact
professions
" such as hairdressers, masseurs, teachers and probably also the police are affected.
The next round of mass testing will take place from January 8th to 10th.
The tests will take place in Vienna from January 8th to 17th.
It's an offer for everyone!
We will also define professional groups that have to test every 2 weeks.
- Sebastian Kurz (@sebastiankurz) December 11, 2020
Meanwhile, a video from the Austrian parliament is spreading on the Internet.
In it, an FPÖ politician allegedly proves that corona tests are not reliable.
Coronavirus in Austria: The current number of cases
Update from December 12, 1:50 p.m.:
From Friday to Saturday there were
3241 new corona infections
in Austria
within one day.
This means that the number of
new corona cases
within 24 hours
exceeds the
mark of 3,000 new infections every day for the first time this week.
In the same period, the authorities reported
126 new corona deaths
in
Austria
.
The number of active corona cases fell again and was a total of 37,524 on Saturday.
Most
new infections
were reported from Friday to Saturday in
Lower Austria
.
The number of new
corona cases in
the individual federal states at a glance:
Lower Austria
: 643
Upper Austria
: 637
Vienna
: 578
Styria
: 491
Salzburg
: 274
Tyrol
: 248
Carinthia
: 175
Vorarlberg
: 120
Burgenland
: 75
Corona in Austria: Government restricts easing for Christmas and New Year's Eve again
First report from December 12th:
Vienna - From Thursday to Friday, the authorities in
Austria reported
2,893 new
corona infections
.
This means that the number of new infections has remained below 3000 new cases every day over the past week.
However, the
corona numbers
in Austria are on a plateau from which we need to come down further.
On Friday evening, Chancellor
Sebastian Kurz
(ÖVP) warned of a possible
third wave
.
"There is still a hard time ahead of us, in January, February, March," said
shortly
after the
government
video conference
with the provincial governors.
Despite falling numbers, the level of
infection is
still too high and the
Corona *
measures
must continue to be observed.
In his statement, he recalled the
contact restrictions
that still apply
- especially for private meetings.
"Contagion is particularly high in the private sphere," emphasized Kurz.
The
Austrian government is
therefore restricting the
planned
easing
for the
Christmas holidays
.
Ten people
are
allowed to
meet
on
Christmas Eve
and Christmas Day
, regardless of how many households they come from.
“As of December 26th, what is valid now”, explained
Kurz
.
From then on, as is currently the case, a maximum of six adults and six children from a maximum of two households will be allowed to meet.
Originally, the exemptions should apply from December 24th to December 26th and December 31st.
My appeal to all people in our country: adhere to all measures that are in force!
Even if the numbers go down, the level of the numbers is way too high & the situation is far from resolved.
The pandemic is far from over.
- Sebastian Kurz (@sebastiankurz) December 11, 2020
Corona in Austria: Federal Chancellor Kurz warns of the third wave in the new year
For
New Year's
now also a valid
contact restriction
of a maximum of six adults and six children in two households. "New Year parties would be a
disaster
for January," explained
Short
restricting the exceptions.
However, on the night of the New Year, the otherwise applicable night curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. no longer applies.
“We are currently at the point where we can say: the
lockdown
in
Austria was
successful.
The direction is a good one, but
we are a long way
from a
general easing
, ”said the Chancellor, explaining the still tense Corona * situation.
Kurz
further warned: "I rather expect that we will have to make an effort that the
third wave
does not
hit
us hard at the beginning of January
." Vice Chancellor
Werner Kogler
(Greens) agreed: "The situation is tense and will remain tense."
Corona in Austria: New mass tests in January - mask requirement outdoors and at work possible
Austria
is therefore increasingly
relying
on
corona testing *
.
The federal and state governments have agreed on a
second round of corona mass tests
in the new year.
These are to take place from January 8th to 10th, additional days are planned in individual federal states.
Subsequently, there will be
further comprehensive tests
in
hotspot areas
, i.e. regions with a certain incidence value *.
In addition,
target group tests
are to be
expanded
in
professions
with a lot of
customer contact
and made
mandatory
for a larger number of professions
.
"There will be several groups, they will be defined together with the social partners", announced
Kurz
.
As a further
measure
to contain the
corona numbers
in Austria,
mouth and nose protection is being
expanded.
In future, the federal states will have the option of
requiring
a
mask
in
to introduce high-traffic zones such as in
outdoor
shopping streets
.
In addition, the mask requirement also applies at the
workplace
if the necessary distance cannot be maintained.
(ph) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital editorial network
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Georg Hochmuth