Austria has probably reached the peak of the third corona wave.
Chancellor Kurz gives hope: "Freedom is within reach," he says.
The news ticker about the pandemic in the neighboring country.
Corona *
pandemic in Austria:
There is a "very high systemic risk" in the intensive care units in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland.
Chancellor Kurz has now announced easing in his country and declared a difference to Germany (
see update from April 16, 4.30 p.m.
).
The first details on the planned easing have now been leaked (
see update from April 18, 9.23 a.m.
).
This
news ticker on the corona crisis in the Alpine republic
is updated regularly.
Update from April 20, 2:45 p.m.:
Austria is planning openings and easing in the coronavirus pandemic.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz tries to swipe at Germany *.
But how great is the progress made in the Corona crisis?
The Covid-19 numbers show a clear contradiction (see link).
Coronavirus pandemic in Austria: The 7-day incidence is falling in the Alpine republic
Update from April 19, 4:55 p.m.:
The number of cases and the seven-day incidence in Austria have been falling since April 1. And that without a hard lockdown. Germany's neighboring country is even thinking about further opening
steps (see update from April 18, 9.23 a.m.).
Shops and kindergartens are not closed in many regions. The schools are in alternation classes, there is no obligation to work from home.
How did Austria manage to push the numbers down without a hard lockdown? Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) mentioned a difference to the strategy in Germany. "We now have constant mass tests," he said on April 16, referring to the immense number of daily tests that are the basis for mastering the situation. In comparison to Germany, there is probably a significantly lower number of unreported cases in Austria, said Kurz. "In Germany you have a harder lockdown than here nationwide, and yet the numbers are increasing," said the Vice Rector of the Medical University of Vienna, Oswald Wagner.
“Freedom is within your grasp,” said Kurz.
Masks, tests and the planned
Green Pass for vaccinated, tested and recovered people should play an important role in
the careful opening
steps.
Nevertheless, Austria is still in a risky corona situation.
Although the numbers are falling, they are still at a high level.
The country recorded 2,117 new coronavirus infections on Monday.
The seven-day incidence is 194.2 (comparison with Germany: 165.3).
At the end of March this value was 255.
Corona in Austria: Almost every fifth person has at least one first vaccination
Update from April 18, 6 p.m.:
The vaccination campaign against the coronavirus is making progress in Austria.
Almost every fifth person in the Alpine republic has now received at least one first vaccination against the coronavirus.
Specifically: According to the Ministry of Health, 1,743,873 people (19.16 percent of the population) are partially immunized.
713,214 people (eight percent of the population) are double-vaccinated.
Coronavirus pandemic in Austria: In the Alpine republic, some products are becoming scarce
Update from April 18, 3:51 p.m.:
In Austria, some products are now scarce.
The ongoing corona pandemic and the Suez blockade * lead to sometimes significantly delayed deliveries, as
BusinessLive
explains.
According to the trade association, you have to wait a long time for household appliances in particular.
People in Austria sometimes have to wait two to three months before they get their new washing machine or dishwasher.
This is because “that in the pandemic, when many people now spend time at home, they are also investing more in their homes.
And many people have decided to buy a washing machine or dishwasher or a new kitchen right away, ”describes electronics retailer Robert Pfarrwaller on
ORF radio Ö1
.
Bottlenecks in raw materials, computer chips and primary materials can be attributed to the Corona crisis.
The fact that these things are hard to come by is also due to the recent traffic jam in the Suez Canal.
Corona in Austria: Briefly loosens the lockdown - details for "large-scale opening" leaked
Update from April 18, 9.23 a.m.:
Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announces
decisive easing
in an interview with the newspaper
AUSTRIA
.
The plan would be officially presented at the end of the week, but the paper already has it.
The "large-scale opening" is planned for May 17th.
Then the gastronomy - outside and inside - should reopen.
Hotels are also allowed to unlock again.
But the “purest test obligation” applies.
This means that guests may only be entertained or accepted with a current, negative corona test.
From June this should also be possible with the Green Pass, as reported by
ruhr24.de *
.
Art and culture can also hope for great relief.
Operas, theaters, cinemas and open-air stages should be allowed to play again.
However, strict rules apply: FFP2 mask requirement, capacity limit, every second seat must remain free and, of course, “re-test requirement”.
Sport is not left out either.
Fans are allowed to play in the football stadiums and also themselves.
Outdoor pools should also be allowed to open.
The “clean test obligation” so prevalent in Austria could meanwhile also be made easier.
At least when it comes to Chamber of Commerce President Hans Mahrer.
Self-tests from home should be registered.
“In Vorarlberg there are self-tests with video recordings and QR codes, we could roll that out all over Austria,” Mahrer describes.
A second opening step is planned for June.
According to
AUSTRIA
, all other industries, including night-time catering, will then go back into operation.
The compulsory test should not be required for vaccinated persons.
Corona in Austria: Briefly loosens and explains the difference to Germany - the special vaccination rule causes massive criticism
Update from April 17, 1:47 p.m
.: The Vienna Philharmonic are already vaccinated!
That causes massive criticism.
95 of 148 members of the Vienna Philharmonic were vaccinated against Corona early on Monday.
This was confirmed by the city of Vienna, as reported by the Austrian
derstandard.at
.
The musicians were preferred "in order to keep the orchestra internationally playable".
The orchestra named "different playing obligations" for which a vaccination is contractually intended.
Otherwise there would be high contractual penalties.
The projects are therefore also a guest performance with conductor Riccardo Muti at La Scala in Milan.
Vaccination of the Philharmonic "slap in the face"
The IG Freie Theaterarbeit described the Philharmoniker's vaccination preparation as a "slap in the face" of all other artists, writes
derstandard.at
.
The City of Vienna shows "that it thinks and supports people - and art - in several classes," it said in a broadcast.
The Philharmonic would be of the utmost importance, but also many others in all branches of the arts.
+
Archive photo of the Vienna Philharmonic at the New Year's Concert 2019 in Vienna.
© Hans Punz / APA / dpa
Update from April 17, 8:23 a.m.:
According to the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), the 7-day incidence in Austria is 204.6.
And: Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) has announced Corona opening steps for mid-May, in all areas from culture to sports, gastronomy to tourism at the same time.
Kurz wants to present an opening plan by the end of next week.
This is made possible by the "vaccine turbo".
In April, May and June Austria expects a delivery of almost one million Biontech / Pfizer vaccination doses.
Corona in Austria: Chancellor Kurz wants to open up - "Freedom is near"
Update from April 16, 4:30 p.m
.: In Austria, all industries should be allowed to open under a protection concept in a few weeks. First steps of nationwide and simultaneous measures in tourism, gastronomy, culture and sport are probably possible in May, said Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) on Friday in Vienna. He did not name a specific point in time, but referred to detailed planning for the next week. “Freedom is within your grasp,” said Kurz. Masks, tests and the planned Green Pass for vaccinated, tested and recovered people should play an important role in the careful opening steps.
"In the meantime we have constant mass tests," said Kurz, referring to the immense number of daily tests that are the basis for mastering the situation. "If we don't get overconfident now, then we have the chance to offer all industries prospects," said Kurz.
The number of new infections has recently decreased significantly, and the sometimes very critical situation in the intensive care units has also eased slightly. The seven-day incidence of around 205 is still well above the German value of 160. Compared to Germany, there is probably a significantly lower number of unreported cases in Austria, said Kurz. "In Germany you have a harder lockdown than here nationwide, and yet the numbers are increasing," said the Vice Rector of the Medical University of Vienna, Oswald Wagner.
Corona in Austria: The third wave has reached its peak - Chancellor Kurz announces the next vaccination hammer
Update from April 15, 9 p.m
.: In the Corona crisis * in Austria, the so-called opening commission started its work on this Thursday afternoon.
According to the daily newspaper
ÖSTERREICH,
representatives from the federal government, states, cities, municipalities and social partners consulted with experts
in a video conference
.
“Our health system is proving its worth, but currently at what is probably the highest stress level.
It is clear to all of us that we will only get back to normality, as we once knew it, by quickly vaccinating the population, "said Vienna's Governor Michael Ludwig in a first statement:" And yet it is important to think about it now how such opening steps towards normality could look like.
Because the people in our country long for a normality like they used to be. ”There are still no concrete results for a chronological sequence of openings.
Coronavirus pandemic in Austria: forecast - critical situation in intensive care units by the end of April
Update from April 15, 4.30 p.m.:
In Austria there is a so-called COVID forecast consortium in the coronavirus pandemic.
This is subordinate to the Ministry of Health and, according to the definition, should provide “weekly consolidated short-term forecasts on the course of people suffering from COVID-19 in Austria”.
If this consortium has its way, the third corona wave in the Alpine republic has currently reached its peak.
There are more and more people who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered, the number of reproductions (the R value) * is falling slightly, i.e. the number that measures how many more people an infected person infects on average.
According to the experts, however, relief for the hospitals is not yet to be expected.
The forecast is until the end of April.
According to this, the intensive care units in the federal states of Vienna (around 1.9 million inhabitants), in Lower Austria (around 1.7 million inhabitants) and in Burgenland (around 300,000 inhabitants) would remain above the system-critical utilization limit of a third until the end of the month.
From these 33 percent, the corona patients, according to the
Kronen Zeitung,
“compete with other intensive care patients”.
Means: Then the intensive care units are overloaded.
Recently, individual corona patients from the affected federal states were relocated to hospitals in Styria or Carinthia, for example, in order to relieve the intensive care physicians in the particularly affected east of the country a little.
+
In the critical area: the intensive care units in the third wave of the corona pandemic in Austria.
© Screenshot Sozialministerium.at, as of April 15th
Coronavirus pandemic in Austria: Sebastian Kurz - Even more vaccination doses from Biontech / Pfizer
Update from April 15, 3:45 p.m
.: For the first time again really good news for Austria in the coronavirus pandemic.
The Federal Chancellery of Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) published a statement this Thursday that one million more vaccine doses from Biontech / Pfizer should arrive in the Alpine republic by June.
The news portal
oe24.at
reports on this
.
Accordingly, the delivery volume from the fourth quarter will be brought forward and will arrive in Austria earlier. The result, according to Kurz: For everyone who wants, the first vaccinations should now be given earlier - and not in 100 days at the latest.
Even more: The first 100,000 additional vaccination doses from the German-American manufacturer are to arrive in Austria by April 26th and will then be distributed directly to the vaccination centers.
This means that the “vaccination turbo” can be ignited for so short a time.
As of April 14, 11:59 p.m., 2,263,713 vaccinations had been carried out, according to the Ministry of Health.
Kurz had already reported on Wednesday about the progress made with the European Union (EU) in the vaccination campaign: "Commission President Ursula von der Leyen informed me that Austria will receive around one million additional vaccine doses from Biontech / Pfizer in the second quarter." (
see update from April 14th, 9:05 p.m.
)
Corona pandemic in Austria: |
|
registered corona cases since the beginning of the pandemic |
586,883 |
Dead with or from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic |
9813 |
Active corona cases in Austria |
29,466 |
Corona patients in intensive care units |
577 |
Vaccinations against the coronavirus |
2,263,713 |
As of April 15, 9:30 a.m., source: oe24.at based on data from the Ministry of Health
Coronavirus pandemic in Austria: One million additional vaccine doses from Biontech / Pfizer
Update from April 14th,
9:05
pm:
“Impfturbo for us” - Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was very pleased at a press conference today about the additional vaccination doses that Austria will also receive through the additional deliveries from Biontech / Pfizer, reports
oe24
. The country can expect a total of one million more cans in the second quarter. "Commission President Ursula von der Leyen informed me that Austria will receive around one million additional vaccine doses from Biontech / Pfizer in the second quarter," Kurz said in his statement. This would allow 500,000 people to be fully immunized.
Vice Chancellor Kogler was also excited: "It makes us confident that we can achieve the vaccination goals more quickly." Good news for the population, because the goal that everyone who wants a vaccination can get a vaccination in 100 days can now be achieved be so short.
The additional doses could also compensate for omitted or postponed vaccinations of the vector vaccines.
However, one thing is certain for Kurz: All vaccines approved in Austria are used.
Corona in Austria: infection numbers at a high level - the capital is particularly badly affected
First report from April 14, 2:52 p.m.:
Vienna - The number of new corona infections in Austria is still at a high level.
From Tuesday to Wednesday, 2942 new corona cases and 31 deaths were reported in the Alpine republic.
Most of the new infections, 888 in number, were registered in the capital Vienna.
Corona in Austria: Vienna and Lower Austria extend Easter lockdown - Burgenland not
There, the original Easter lockdown was extended again on Monday - until May 2nd. “It can affect anyone,” warned Vienna's Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) at a press conference at the beginning of the week. As the reason for the renewed extension of the hard lockdown, he cited the utilization of the intensive care units. Many more young patients are now also affected by severe Covid-19 courses *, emphasized Ludwig.
Lower Austria's governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP) also said on Monday that her state would continue along the way and also extend the Easter lockdown until May 2nd.
The situation is different in the third federal state in which the Easter lockdown applied - Burgenland.
"We will not continue the lockdown on Monday," said governor Hans-Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) on Wednesday.
Corona in Austria: Burgenland ends Easter lockdown on April 19 - Briefly observes the situation
In Burgenland, both trade and schools will open from April 19. "We didn't make the decision easy for ourselves," said Doskozil. The most important corona numbers, i.e. the number of new infections *, the number of reproductions and the 7-day incidence, have "developed perfectly" in his federal state, according to the governor of Burgenland. In the past few weeks, therefore, “a very important step has been taken,” said Doskozil.
He promised further openings in Burgenland, but also made it clear: "We must also have the courage to press the stop button if it is necessary." The government said on Wednesday that it is closely monitoring the corona situation in Burgenland .
"The situation is tense, but the direction is right," said Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) *.
"We talked to the governor: if it is necessary, the emergency brake must be pulled," he further assured.
Corona in Austria: New summit on Friday - Platter calls for opening steps for May
On Friday (April 16) there will be a federal-state summit on the current corona situation in Austria. With regard to the meeting, Tyrolean Governor Günther Platter (ÖVP) asked for openings for the upcoming month. “There must be opening steps in May. And there will be steps in opening up, quite step by step, ”said Platter in an interview with the APA news agency.
The Tyrolean governor pleaded for a specific schedule for openings in May to be adopted during the deliberations on Friday.
This must particularly affect the areas of gastronomy, hotel, sport and culture.
According to Platter, the corona situation in Tyrol is currently under control.
He referred to the falling number of infections and a very stable situation in the hospitals.
In the corona pandemic, Austria is currently "on the last meters" of a marathon, said Platter.
"But as is so often the case: the last meters are the hardest", was the appeal of the Tyrolean governor.
On Tuesday (April 13th) Austria's Minister of Health Rudolf Anschober (Greens) announced his resignation.
The successor has now been determined.
(ph) * Merkur.de and ruhr24.de are offered by IPPEN.MEDIA
List of rubric lists: © Roland Schlager
