How did the Corona variant get to Tyrol from South Africa?
Authorities have gone in search of “patient zero”.
Corona mutation: "Patient Zero" in Austria apparently returned from South Africa on December 10th.
Austrian authorities outline the search for clues.
The case has a connection to a person from Munich.
Tyrol - search for traces in Tyrol.
There are strict exit regulations.
How did the corona mutation, which first appeared in South Africa, get into the state?
The Austrian authorities have investigated - and apparently discovered "patient zero".
The states of Tyrol and Lower Austria published a message on Friday, February 12, 2021 with the headline "Trace to a possible source of the South African mutation in Tyrol".
It says: "As is already known, according to the current state of knowledge, the zero case in Tyrol can be traced back to a sample swab from a person in the Schwaz district on December 23, 2020."
Corona in Austria: Search for "Patient Zero" - How the South African variant came to Tyrol
The person who first developed the South African corona mutation in Tyrol was routinely tested for the virus before a knee operation, according to the authorities' letter.
But the Tyrolean had a visit from a person who had previously returned from a stay in South Africa.
During this visit, the South African mutation could have been infected.
+
Federal police officers check documents of travelers on the A93 motorway near Kiefersfelden.
The strict German entry rules on the border with Tyrol to protect against corona variants came into force on the night of February 14th.
© Matthias Balk / dpa
She returned home to Tyrol on December 10, 2020 from a five-week work stay in South Africa.
That emerges from the letter from the authorities.
During the 11-hour flight, the person wore an FFP2 mask, just like her work colleague from southern Germany.
Both were separated from each other by a seat in the row of seats.
The southern German tested positive for the corona virus on arrival at the airport in Munich.
Thereupon the person - apparently a woman, as can be read from the letter - was tested in a private laboratory in Tyrol.
The result was negative.
This was followed by a visit to a friend in the hospital who was being treated as an inpatient there for a knee operation - said patient in whom the corona variant was detected for the first time in Tyrol.
A corona case in Schwaz was previously considered "patient 1".
The health authorities apparently came across the South African returnees through the contact follow-up.
During the visit after the stay in South Africa, an infection could have occurred.
Corona mutation: "Patient Zero" presumably a returnee from South Africa - clues lead to Munich
According to his own information, the person in Lower Austria developed symptoms on December 11th and had a temperature of 39 degrees on December 12th.
This emerges from "intensive research by the Tyrolean authorities".
On December 14th, the returnees from South Africa tested positive for the corona virus.
The infection was so severe that an admission to a Lower Austrian clinic was necessary.
The person visited by the returnees tested positive for the virus on December 23.
The corona mutation from South Africa was only detected in mid-January.
However, according to the authorities, sequencing is not possible with the supposed “patient zero” because the corresponding samples are no longer available.
"The health authorities are currently examining all existing causalities in detail in order to be able to trace the chains of infection," the letter continues.
However, this also means that the final proof that the corona mutation reached Tyrol in this way is not available.
State of Tyrol: Searching for traces of the chains of infection - German authorities informed about corona mutation
“It is important for us to emphasize that the surveys are not about looking for someone to blame.
The only thing is to understand possible chains of infection as well as possible and to follow up on all indications so that the more contagious mutations cannot spread further, ”said the district captain of Schwaz Michael Brandl.
The German authorities were informed of the case via the Europe-wide networked online tracing system.
(aka)
The corona numbers in Austria seem stable, but you have to struggle with virus variants.
After the summit on Monday, Chancellor Kurz initially rejected further openings.
List of rubric lists: © Matthias Balk
