Corona in Austria: pushing ahead with vaccination? Politicians under fire - investigations planned

The government around Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has extended the corona lockdown in Austria.

Some restaurateurs now want to open anyway.

• In

  Austria

  , the

  corona numbers

  have recently

  decreased slightly.

  But relaxation does not seem in sight.

• The

  lockdown

  was extended until February 8th.

  Some

  restaurateurs

  now fear for their existence.

• There

  is a huge problem

  with the

  corona rapid tests *

  for students.

• This

  news ticker

  is updated regularly.

Update from January 19, 8:54 p.m

.: Have

politicians

circumvented

the

vaccination sequence

in Austria several times?

The mayor of Feldkirch,

Wolfgang Matt

of the conservative

ÖVP

, was forced to justify on Tuesday why he was vaccinated during a vaccination campaign in a senior citizens' home, although the plan said it was not yet the turn of politicians.

The home doctor contradicted Matt's statement that he was given the vaccine when there were no more people waiting, reports the

AFP

.

In the past few days, however, there have been several reports that politicians and

city ​​officials have

already been vaccinated.

The

public prosecutor of Carinthia announced

that they would investigate at least one such report.

Several mayors said they received the vaccination prematurely because they had heart problems themselves or were caring for relatives in retirement homes.

Chancellor Kurz on Corona lockdown: "If we were an island, I would know what I would have to do"

Update from January 19, 2 p.m.:

Chancellor

Sebastian Kurz

(ÖVP) commented on the TV channel

Puls 4

about the extension of the corona lockdown in

Austria

.

He said the end of the

corona lockdown

on February 8 was by no means set in stone.

Kurz made it clear that he was reluctant to commit to a date, "but if we don't give a date, the phone rings all day".

Regarding possible

entry and exit bans

, the Chancellor said: "

If we were an island, I would know what I would have to do

." However

, because of

the ties with neighboring countries,

Austria

and Europe are in a different position.

"

Our system would collapse

if we shut down," explained

Kurz

.

+

Due to the ties to neighboring countries, Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (r.) Is currently ruling out entry and exit bans.

(Archive image)

© picture alliance / dpa / dpa-Pool |

Sven Hoppe

Corona lockdown in Austria extended: "There is no guarantee in a pandemic"

First report from January 19:

Vienna - In

Austria

, the

corona infection numbers * are

picking up again after a slight decrease.

On Tuesday,

1,486 new corona cases

(previous day: 1,161) were recorded

in the Alpine republic

.

The goal of Chancellor

Sebastian Kurz

and his government is to get

under 700 new infections per day

through the extended

lockdown

.

In the ideal case, one could take the

first steps to open

it on

February 8

, explained

Kurz

.

However, the Chancellor also made it clear in the Federal Chancellery last Sunday: "In a

pandemic *

there is no guarantee."

Corona lockdown in Austria: restaurateurs start opening campaign - "Industry is facing ruin"

The extended

lockdown

in

Austria is

hitting the

catering trade

hard.

The operators have had to be patient for months.

An

opening

still does not seem in sight.

Many of them are facing the

end

.

"The industry is on the

verge

of

ruin", the landlady

Alexandra Psichos

from Vienna told the

Austrian

newspaper

.

Together with many other restaurateurs from all over the country, she launched the “

5 to 12 - we're opening again

” campaign

on Facebook

.

The participants want to

open

their

businesses

without entertaining guests.

Instead, they put

grave candles in

the window.

+

The cafes in downtown Vienna are currently empty.

© imago images / photosteinmaurer.com/ Tobias Steinmaurer

Corona lockdown in Austria: hosts are demanding help from the government

Psichos made it clear that the participants in the campaign do

not

want to be “

angry hosts

” who take

to the streets

without masks against the

Corona *

measures

.

"We also don't deny Corona, we take it seriously," said the Viennese restaurateur.

Your demand: "If we are not allowed to earn money, then at least the subsidies have to flow." Some landlords have not received any money since November, reported

Psichos

.

Gert Kunze

, head of a Viennese café, made it

clear

to

Austria

that many companies would

not survive

the

lockdown

.

“We are ready, we want to work, but we are not allowed to,” he said.

Norbert Zauner

, operator of a sports canteen, also complained: "If the government closes the country, it must also ensure that we can survive." He is

afraid for his existence

and only wants to provide for his family.

Video: Corona mutation detected several times in Austria

Corona in Austria: self-test chaos in schools

In the

corona lockdown *

in

Austria

,

schools will also

remain closed for the time being.

For the reopening, the students

are to be offered

free and voluntary

self-tests

.

The tests are "as easy as picking a nose," it said in an instruction video for the action.

The problem: "The tests are either

not at all or arrived in insufficient number

." The declared compulsory education unionists

Thomas Bulant

(SPO) against

oe24.at

.

The directors were supposed to

receive

the

corona tests *

at their schools last Sunday, but many waited in vain.

"To take people off their free time on Sunday and then the logistics on the part of the ministry doesn't work is

more than scandalous,

" said

Bulant

.

According to the

Ministry of Education

, the plane that was

supposed to deliver

the

corona rapid tests

from China was delayed.

In the next few days, however, all 5,800 school locations should be supplied.

(ph) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital editorial network