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meA “traffic light” will indicate the risk of corona in the Austrian regions in the future. It is based on criteria such as the change in the number of infections (on average of seven days, extrapolated to the respective population). But the number of tests in the corresponding region, the proportion of cases of unknown source or the regional resources in the health system should also influence.
Green means low, yellow for medium, orange for high, and red for very high risk. That is a good description for the population of regional development, Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) said on Friday. Health Minister Rudolf Anschober hopes that the “traffic light” will provide a “boost to transparency.” It is intended to ensure that the risk assessment is carried out in accordance with objective criteria and that the response to them is uniform. In the case of yellow, for example, the requirement for a mask will be reinforced in retail, gastronomy and events. Schoolchildren will have to wear a mask everywhere except their own place.
Cities suffer
However, the traffic light change is not really far from political influence. According to media reports, it is carried out by a commission to which five representatives from the federal government and nine from the federal states are sent. In addition, five specialists (for example, virologists) will be sent to you. Because the experts are also appointed by the federal government, the federal government would have a majority, so to speak.
Even the top spots were evidence of vehement political influence. There are reports of angry calls from provincial governors who don’t like a higher risk rating at all. Last week, the “traffic light” in all regions of Austria turned green, a uniformity that did not reflect reality at all. Four regions have now been turned yellow: the Tyrolean district of Kufstein and the cities of Vienna, Linz, and Graz. All other districts remained green.
But the mayor of Linz, a Social Democrat, immediately announced that the change would have no consequences in his city. The “dark construction of the traffic light” does not reflect the reality of the city, it is a “botch”.
Since there is no legal basis for the “stoplight”, no obligations arise. There is also fierce resistance to the traffic light in Vienna, which is governed by red and green; There it is believed that the ÖVP in particular wants to cast the city in bad light because there are state elections in the fall. Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) said he took note of the traffic lights. But he criticized that the criteria were incomprehensible and that it was not yet clear what specific effects they would have.
Health Minister Anschober tried to remove the stigmatization from the traffic light circuit. Even a green classification is “no carte blanche”, so basic rules like washing your hands regularly and keeping your distance must be followed. But yellow is not a reason for “drama and accusations to the authorities” either. The cities have it more difficult at the moment. The traffic light is not static, there is a dynamic up and down. Currently, six regions are overvalued, but have not yet been classified as “yellow” by the experts of the Crown Commission. In the last 24 hours, 357 new infections were recorded across Austria, the vast majority (196) of them in Vienna.
