Massive tests in Austria: Sebastian Kurz’s risky bet

METERTry more, try less, don’t test at all, test everything: In the fight against the corona pandemic, Europe is still searching for the right strategy, especially when it comes to the correct use of limited testing options. However, with the number of rapid tests available, the interest of several countries in breaking the second wave through massive tests is increasing.

As Slovakia has shown, even if there was definitely criticism of mass independent screening for symptoms. For example, Berlin virologist Christian Drosten recently stated on the NDR Info podcast that with the current number of infections, antigen tests would give too many false positive results. Furthermore, there is not enough evidence to evaluate the 83 million Germans.

In Austria, however, successful tests of the Slovak population were closely followed, including forced isolation for those who did not want to test themselves. And now he’s testing a similar concept. It will not be able to test the almost nine million Austrians, that is already clear. But many.

And while there have almost always been disputes between the federal government and the states over various measures, from the curfew for the restaurant industry to exit restrictions and contact follow-up, in this case everyone is surprisingly in agreement.

Some countries cautiously complained, and some ÖVP-governed regions also indicated that they were surprised by the Chancellor’s announcement in a television interview. However, the implementation of the mass tests quickly turned into a race, a kind of performance display.

It should start on Friday: with massive tests in Vienna. First in many ways. Vienna is the first megacity to undertake such an undertaking. And Vienna is the first region in Austria to start testing across the country. To illustrate the dimensions: Vienna has about two million inhabitants, but since the principle of voluntariness applies, it is assumed that only about 60 percent of residents will be evaluated; In total, about 1.2 million tests are carried out between December 4-13.

“The city of Vienna has no problem running a lot of tests,” says Health Councilor Peter Hacker (SPÖ). Most of the tests have already been carried out in the federal capital. Hacker, mind you, he’s the politician from the Viennese city who until recently had a kind of intimate enmity with the Interior Ministry, which was definitely mutual.

This went so far that the city council did not want to participate in a meeting of the crisis team in the ministry for the public. But now Hacker praises the communication between the federal government and Vienna. There is only very cautious criticism: shortly after Sebastian Kurz’s announcement, “little or no information” was sent to the federal states.

In order to be able to carry out the massive tests without a gathering of people as far as possible, the logistics are now being dealt with as much as possible: software, electronics, army. The tests are carried out in three places: in the Marxhalle, in the exhibition hall and in the town hall; there are a total of 300 test lines. In addition, there are 20 for those who test positive for rapid antigen tests and are then controlled with PCR tests. If you want to be tested, you must register online or by phone and you will receive an appointment.

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Vienna already has experience with this system, although to a much lesser extent. Since the end of October, 30 containers have already been installed in the city, in which the tests are carried out exactly according to this principle: pre-registration, appointment, test, result in 15 minutes.

And the system has so far worked without risky crowds. The current campaign, however, has a different dimension: the test marathon is being carried out by thousands of employees, volunteers and around 2,000 soldiers sent to Vienna by the armed forces. 5,400 soldiers will be deployed across the country. Organization is a matter of country. Therefore, the process differs from one country to another, from one region to another.

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“Preparations are in full swing,” the Federal Chancellery said in response to a request from WELT. “Thanks to the responsible federal ministries, federal states and municipalities.” They expect the widest possible participation. The more people participate, the greater the importance. From the environment of Chancellor Kurz, we can hear that the campaign could in no way remain a unique thing.

The sudden speed of the process is mainly due to the fact that the regions want to have processed the evidence and the resulting quarantine notices by Christmas. In the west of the country there is probably another reason: the hope that the massive test will provide a good basis for the arguments for the opening of the ski areas, opposite Vienna, but especially against Germany. The federal government, especially Chancellor Angela Merkel, is very critical of ski holidays in Europe.

On Wednesday, Kurz announced the first easing of the blockade. Schools, retail businesses, and green services like hair salons can reopen on Monday. However, restaurants and hotels will be closed until January 7. Skiing and other outdoor sports, on the other hand, will be possible again from December 24; however, due to strict entry regulations, the ski areas are essentially only accessible to locals.

The ski season lasts until March and April, and many are likely to expect more relaxation in the new year. No one in Austria has a stake in the failure of the massive test company: even Kurz, after a series of communication failures since early autumn, is in dire need of a hit. Failure could leave you standing as a showbiz politician; countries as saboteurs or as troops of chaos. And so they all cling to him.

There is no question whether it makes sense. “Extensive testing offers the opportunity to fish for those who have a high virus load right now, no more, no less,” says virologist Monika Redlberger-Fritz of the Medical University of Vienna. The deciding factor in such a commitment is what question is being asked and whether the measure is adequate to answer it. If the massive tests are aimed at licensing the people tested, then the answer is a resounding no.

The SPÖ Hacker politician also speaks of a “psychological issue”. Many people wanted to be tested and felt more confident getting tested. But that is precisely one of the biggest fears: that many use the tests to celebrate the end of the confinement with a negative result.

And in view of the number of infections, there is still no real indication of it: the measures will gradually relax from the beginning of next week. The number of new infections each day remains high and many hospitals are working hard. The seven-day incidence on Tuesday was 335. For comparison: in Germany it is significantly less at 137.

At least one reopening of the schools appears to be arranged as of Monday. But there is also a big fear here: that is, whether there will be enough teachers as of Monday in light of the massive testing and the associated number of quarantine notices to restart classroom teaching.