The hope in Austria was great: The corona lockdown should end with free tests from January 18.
Nothing will come of it now.
Now Chancellor Kurz is following up with a gloomy forecast.
There is currently a crisis in neighboring
Austria
when it comes to corona virus
.
A change in the
law
should end the lockdown in two weeks.
But the
opposition
is cross.
This
news ticker
is updated regularly.
Update from January 4th, 7:12 p.m
.: Now that
the mutated form of the corona virus has also been detected
in
Austria
,
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz
comments on
the current situation in an interview.
He draws a grim prognosis.
The Chancellor
told the
Kronenzeitung
: “I do
n't
expect relaxation through vaccination and rising temperatures
until the summer
.” In
other
words
,
restrictions are expected in Austria until the middle of the year.
In addition, Chancellor Kurz also speaks about
a third wave of infection
.
The third wave has already hit many countries, such as the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, hard.
These are harbingers of a development for us too.
It will take some time before relevant groups are vaccinated.
Sebastian Kurz
After all: the
vaccinations are
"a historic moment and a turning point in the pandemic".
Sebastian Kurz
himself follows the prioritization and has therefore not yet had himself vaccinated, but adds: "In any case, I have absolute confidence in
the vaccine
and I am looking forward to
getting
our
old life back without all the restrictions
." The Chancellor also said optimistic words at the end: “What motivates me most is that we know that this crisis will not last and that we can return to normal in the summer.
Hard months will be followed by good years again! ”.
Corona in Austria: Mutated virus detected
Update from January 4, 4:09 p.m.:
It
is now officially proven
in
Austria
: the Corona variant from Great Britain.
Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens) announced that four people were infected with it.
All of them were noticed during a voluntary test when they entered Vienna-Schwechat Airport.
Those affected, including three children according to ORF, had only shown mild symptoms and went into
quarantine
.
In another 30-year-old Austrian, the variant from South Africa was subsequently diagnosed.
The
British Corona variant
is currently being intensively researched.
New study results show how contagious the mutations are.
This also has an impact on the discussions about the corona measures.
Corona in Austria: Unsuccessful data cleansing causes confusion
+
The shops remain closed for the time being, the streets empty: Austria extends its lockdown.
© Erwin Scheriau / dpa / picture alliance
First report from January 4, 9:31 a.m .:
Vienna - While
there is still discussion
in
Germany
as to whether and how the
lockdown
should be extended
beyond
January 10,
the Austrian neighbors are a small step ahead of us in this decision.
According to government sources, the
coronavirus restrictions
planned
until January
18 are
now being extended.
Commerce, schools and culture must continue to be patient.
Changes to the corona numbers in Austria are currently expected.
The count of the corona tests and a failed "
data cleansing
" caused confusion here.
According to Austrian media reports, the Ministry of the Interior and Health Ministry for
Vienna
also
stated
the
antigen tests
, while for other federal states only the
PCR tests were
counted.
Covid-19 in Austria, as of January 4th |
|
New corona infections within 24 hours |
1642 |
registered corona deaths within one day |
33 |
Active corona cases in Austria |
20,613 |
Corona patients in hospitals |
2,227 |
Covid-19 patients in intensive care units |
363 |
Source: Ministry of Health
Dispute over free tests: Opposition fights against early lockdown end on January 18
The
coalition
in Austria
had actually
hoped for
relief in the form of
opening up gastronomy, trade and tourism
.
The coalition's plan: Anyone who
undergoes
a
corona test
could have
gone to the shops that were opened again
from
January 18
.
But the opposition resisted the change in the law.
As the Austrian news agency
APA
quoted on Monday, the closure of almost all stores will now take everyone until January
24th
.
With its majority, the opposition could put the amendment in the federal state chamber on hold for two months.
Clear words from @rendiwagner in PK: @SPOE_at will not agree to a “free test law” that the federal government has presented and is a legally questionable blank check.
- Christian Deutsch (@deutsch_ch) January 3, 2021
With around 3000 #Covid cases per day, the numbers are too high.
If the infections do not drop below 1000 in the next 10 days, you need to relax from January 18.
don't even discuss it.
That would be the wrong way, which would lead directly to the 4th lockdown.
(prw)
- Pamela Rendi-Wagner (@rendiwagner) December 31, 2020
The extension also applies to
face-
to-
face teaching
at
Austrian schools
.
Schools will start operating as planned on
January 7th
, but once again at a distance.
This development is also evident in Germany.
A resumption of full face-to-face teaching does
not seem justifiable in
view of the continued high number of
infections
.
Kindergartens
are initially excluded from the regulation.
Coronavirus in Austria: ski lifts with special rights
Only the ski lifts in
Austria
currently
enjoy
the privilege of remaining open.
This caused in
ski areas
such as the Lower Austrian Semmering weekend again for a
mass stampede
.
In an interview with the Austrian newspaper Kurier, Mayor Hermann Doppelreiter described the conditions as "extreme" and made it clear: "It's huge." There is talk of
uncontrolled crowds
, traffic chaos and non-compliance with corona regulations.
Traffic chaos and corona sinners today on Semmering, the securitys are in constant use: https://t.co/b8MT5ghZh1 pic.twitter.com/ikcNkCJ7A9
- Kronen Zeitung (@krone_at) January 3, 2021
As much as the chaos on the
ski slopes in Austria
causes a stir, the big business will still not bring it to the lift operators.
The
season's earnings so
far have
already suffered
too much
.
In Germany, too, there is a real mass rush to ski areas.
The first places had to be cordoned off.
(vs)
List of rubric lists: © Erwin Scheriau / dpa / picture alliance
