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Massive Corona tests for teachers, kindergarten teachers and all other employees of the education sector have been officially running in Upper Austria since 8am on Saturday. On Friday, a faulty registration system caused chaos and excitement, but on Saturday the tests at the 20 test stations in the country went smoothly and calmly from the start.
Even at the largest test station in the Linz Design Center, there have been no long lines in front of the entrance and there has been professional activity on the test lanes themselves. “Everything went well, I went back out after two minutes,” says Julia Riegler, an elementary school teacher at Traun. Benjamin Reischl, professor at HTL 1 at Goethestrasse in Linz, is also full of praise: “Everything is very well coordinated. You can see how important the military is. ” The Upper Austrian military command is in charge of conducting the tests.
According to Commander Dieter Muhr, 17,300 test persons were registered as of Saturday morning. At 1pm, 7249 people across Upper Austria were tested, 13 of them positive. 13,255 people initially registered for Sunday, further registrations are still possible, he said in the afternoon. A total of 38,000 people from the education sector in Upper Austria are asked to take the test this weekend. Muhr appealed again on Saturday: “Dear teachers, please come take the test!” The capacities are far from exhausted: “We can still have a drink.”
After first impressions on Saturday, Muhr returned the praise to the teachers for the successful organization. “Teachers are model students, they get an A for their behavior.” In fact, everything is very disciplined and stress-free at the Design Center. “The people who were tested are satisfied,” says Mayor Klaus Luger (SP), who around 10 o’clock took a photo on the spot with employees of the municipal authorities. Most of the examinees left for home immediately afterward, but some wait around 15 minutes for the test result in front of the Design Center.
A primary school teacher from Linz and her colleague from an HTL gift each other a glass of sparkling wine: “We are negative!” That can also be said by the 678 people in education who took the test on Friday. A flaw in the registration system made it possible. “They were all negative,” says Muhr. A total of 1,500 people were tested on Friday, including the assistants who conducted the tests. Among them there were two positives, they were replaced by other helpers. Muhr awaits the final figures for testing tonight.
Faßmann: “There is a small prick in the nose”
The Minister of Education, Heinz Faßmann (ÖVP), and his wife, a teacher, visited the test site at the Perchtoldsdorf Federal Secondary School (Mödling district), where they set a good example: they were both tested. “There is a little pin prick in the nose, not much else,” he later told reporters. It is not possible to say exactly how many educators will take advantage of the offer this weekend, according to Faßmann, especially since teachers from Vienna, Tyrol and Vorarlberg are also evaluated in the course of the massive general test. However, yesterday the Ministry of Education made a transmission to the education directorates in Austria to participate. The result: “Estimates in the directorates of education are that about 65 percent of teachers have registered and will probably also go to the test. It is possible that other people who have not registered will also go to the test. This is a very good point of reference with colleagues. “
The rush at the test station at the Perchtoldsdorfer gym was manageable at least Saturday morning with an APA on-site inspection. Every now and then, people willing to take the test would come over and over again. They were greeted by soldiers with the words: “Good morning! Please put on your mask, have your message ready and go to the doctor’s tent.” The entrance to the school itself was cordoned off and access to the building was only possible in a controlled manner.
The basic tenor among the educators the APA spoke to on the spot was that it was important to get tested. There was a tendency for their colleagues to get tested too, they said. “This is now my third test,” said Barbara Trinkl, who teaches at the Perchtoldsdorfer Gymnasium, although she found the test not only a “little push” today, but: “You have to accept it.” He is already looking forward to the in-person classes starting again next week: “The three weeks have been very tough.”
Meanwhile, special education teacher Frederike Gillissen criticized in a low voice. The special schools continued to operate during the harsh closure, which was also important in itself, as the students mostly come from difficult family backgrounds and are often better off in school, according to the teacher. But at least public recognition in this regard would have been appreciated, he said.
Participation is voluntary
During this weekend in six federal states (Lower Austria, Burgenland, Styria, Carinthia, Salzburg and Upper Austria), teachers, kindergarten teachers and all other employees of schools and kindergartens (such as leisure teachers, administrative or cleaning staff) will be screened for large-scale coronavirus infection. In Vienna, Tirol and Vorarlberg, employees of educational institutions are being tested as part of the massive general tests that began yesterday Friday.
Participation is voluntary. Therefore, teachers do not have to inform the school if they have been evaluated. The situation is different when teachers have done the test themselves, the antigen test gives a positive result and this is confirmed with the subsequent PCR test: in this case, those affected have to “inform the management of the center immediately ” was called. After all, this is associated with a risk and the employer must be in a position to organize replacement staff or take further protective measures.
There will be no consequences for teachers who do not participate in the massive crown tests. They also do not need to wear an FFP2 mask.
Faßmann emphasized today: “Success is when as many as possible participate. That is the standard answer, but that is also the justified answer. If many can be tried and we have the opportunity to identify those asymptomatic people who do not have any symptoms and then get him out of the chain of infection, so that’s very valuable. We want to have a safe start to school on Monday and this test is certainly a prerequisite for this safe start to school. “
The minister also emphasized the importance of conducting these tests not just once, but multiple times. “This is something important in order to make the school a safe school.” Because such proof is a snapshot. You need to think about how you can cleverly set up a regular, structured, and systematic testing system, because the pandemic won’t end in the new year either. What it might seem is open: “It doesn’t make sense to do this on a daily basis. It doesn’t make sense to do it even monthly. It has to be somewhere in this period.”
