Despite falling corona numbers, the level of infection in Austria is too high.
The first series of mass tests has already ended in some federal states.
The results in Vienna are sobering.
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 14th, 1:50 p.m.:
Within the past 24 hours,
2588 new corona infections
were reported
in Austria
.
This is a low value after the increases at the end of last week.
However, the numbers tend to be lower on Monday as the test capacity is also slightly lower on the weekend.
In addition,
57 new corona deaths
were reported within one day.
This means that
4530 people have died of or with a corona infection
in
Austria
since the beginning of the pandemic.
The federal state with the most new infections within 24 hours is
Upper Austria
.
The number of new
corona cases in
the
federal states
at a glance:
Upper Austria
: 543
Lower Austria
: 448
Styria
: 448
Vienna
: 358
Carinthia
: 239
Salzburg
: 220
Tyrol
: 143
Vorarlberg
: 110
Burgenland
: 79
Corona in Austria: mass tests "successful step to contain the pandemic"
Update from December 14th, 11:20 am:
Health Minister
Rudolf Anschober
rated the first series of
mass tests
in
Austria
as a “good start” and a “successful step to contain the pandemic”.
He particularly praised the finding of more than
4,000 corona infected people
.
"That is the real purpose of the mass
tests, to remove
as many asymptomatic people as possible from the
infection
process and thus to reduce the infection rate," emphasized Anschober.
You can now build on these first mass tests and
develop them further
for the
second round
in the new year.
With
Tyrol
and
Upper Austria
already two states have decided to continue
free trials
offer.
The Tyroleans can be
examined
for
Corona
"permanently and free of charge" from December 19 until 2021
.
The
Tyrolean governor
Günther Platter
(ÖVP)
emphasized
on Saturday that
this should
not
be
an extension of the mass tests
, but rather offer the opportunity to clarify infections before the holidays
.
Upper Austria
will continue to offer the service at selected locations.
The federal state of
Salzburg
is also
looking into
continuing
to offer
free
antigen tests
.
Corona in Austria: Sobering balance after the first series of mass tests in Vienna
Update from December 14th, 8.35 a.m.:
In
Austria
,
a total of
more than two million participants were
recorded
in the first series of
mass
tests
.
In this
more than 4000 infected
found.
The targeted testing of 60 percent of the population was not achieved.
Nevertheless, Defense Minister
Klaudia Tanner described
the result as a "successful major project that will be repeated in the New Year".
There will be a
second series of tests
from January 8th to 10th
.
The Ministry of Health is considering introducing "incentive systems" to encourage more people to participate.
It was possible to localize several thousand infected people who
would probably not have found out that they were
positive
without a
mass test
.
"This
successfully prevented
further infections and the spread of the
corona virus
in families, at work, in schools and with the police,"
Tanner
explained
in a statement to the APA.
+
In the Wiener Stadthalle, the Austrians were able to have themselves tested for the corona virus in the course of the mass tests.
© picture alliance / dpa / APA |
Georg Hochmuth
In
Vienna
, the
mass
tests ended on Sunday evening.
In
the past ten days, a
total of
234,889 people used
the opportunity to have a free
rapid antigen
test carried out.
This corresponds to only
13.5 percent of
the more than 1.7 million residents of the Austrian capital who are entitled to test, as a spokesman for City Councilor for Health
Peter Hacker
(SPÖ) announced to the APA.
The
capacities
in Vienna were designed for
up to 1.2 million participants
.
Corona in Austria: SPÖ boss Rendi-Wagner calls for "Christmas rest"
Update from December 13th, 7.15 p.m.:
Even in
Austria
, the
infection rate
remains serious.
Reason enough for
SPÖ
boss
Pamela Rendi-Wagner to
demand a “Christmas rest” for the upcoming holidays.
Austria
should not
get used
to the high
death
toll, the 49-year-old warned the
ORF
.
“Yesterday 126 people died.
You can't just accept this number. "
If the number of
infections
in the Alpine republic cannot be reduced significantly in the next few days, the SPÖ politician calls for
Austria to
"hibernate"
.
Then you would need "a Christmas break from December 24th, the trade closes, at least for two weeks," says Rendi-Wagner.
In
Austria
, which has a
population of around eight million,
around 320,000 people have tested positive for the
coronavirus
since the beginning of the pandemic
.
+
SPÖ leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner.
© Roland Schlager / APA / dpa
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.
Coronavirus in Austria: Kurz calls for regular tests for contact professions
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
List of rubric lists: © picture alliance / dpa / APA |
Georg Hochmuth