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At a press conference, Anschober and Schmid commented on the current situation in Corona. Both asked to reduce social contacts.
On the occasion of the change of traffic lights in Corona on Thursday and the Corona Regulation that will come into force on Sunday, on Friday a press conference was held with the Minister of Health Rudolf Anschober (Greens) and the spokesperson of the Corona Commission and head of the Department of Infection Epidemiology at AGES Daniela Schmid.
Friday, so Anschober, is the day of the semaphore. What is striking this time is the strongest red coloration in Austria. The pandemic is increasing everywhere right now, and there are a growing number of cases around the world, the Minister of Health reminded us, noting that the peak was still pending. Furthermore, Europe is currently the epicenter of the pandemic, one third of all new infections are recorded here.
Europe is the epicenter of the crown
The 7-day incidence value (that is, the number of positively diagnosed cases in the last seven days per 100,000 inhabitants) updated on Thursday is 134 in Austria, which is comparable to Italy. However, the value is significantly higher than in Germany or Hungary. Note: The 7 day incidence value has now increased to 172 (as of October 24 at 2pm).
According to the Minister of Health, each country is reacting differently to this serious situation. He recalled that there are already blockades or partial blockades in many European countries. “We still don’t want to go to Austria, we want to avoid a shutdown. I remain optimistic that we can avoid this measure.”
Avoid confinement
The decisive parameter is the situation in intensive medical areas. “Lockdowns can and should only occur in Austria if the parliament approves it and if we are faced with a collapse of the healthcare system,” Anschober said.
In Austria there are almost 2,000 intensive care beds. Occupancy is currently eight percent, last week six percent. An increase can be observed, but that is “manageable”. By November 4, according to the forecast, an occupancy rate of around 12 percent can be expected. In general, the curve for the number of hospitalizations and intensive care beds is rising, but there is no problem of utilization. The trend is up, but the good news, according to Anschober: “There is still a lot of room for improvement.”
Holidays and holidays
However, the next few weeks will be decisive, as there are many important dates, such as the fall holidays, Halloween and All Saints. So Anschober has a particularly important request here. He calls on Austrians to avoid social contacts and travel during the autumn holidays.
To avoid additional new infections, the Minister of Health also has a request for All Saints’ Day: “We have to make sure we don’t have such close contacts.” But he was glad that “the churches are well prepared” regarding prevention in place.
The third and most important appeal went out to all those who celebrate Halloween. You know that “sometimes the mail goes out.” The post should also say, “but only again in 2021 and not this year please.” It is simply not recommended and asks that this year we avoid Halloween celebrations.
Regulation and measures
After yesterday’s traffic light change, work is now underway to ensure that additional measures are anchored in all affected districts, according to Anschober. The basic mood is quite serious. In addition to the measures now regulated by the new regulation, there are three points or approaches that are being pursued. On the one hand, the basic measures must continue to be observed, that is, hygiene measures, the MNS, as well as the minimum distance (which is now legally required). On the other hand, contact tracing should continue to work as well as before.
As Schmid also often emphasized, this is the beginning and the end of the fight against the virus. In addition, Anschober appealed to the population to download the “Stop Corona” application. There have already been 1.1 million downloads and the application is of great help in managing contact persons.
In short, he stated that everyone should use common sense and be “smart, sensible and careful.” The mood of spring is needed, “where Austria has acted together. I hope the seriousness of the situation is recognized and that we will be successful both in it and in spring. If that is successful, then a lockdown is not necessary.” Then the current measures would be completely sufficient, said the Minister of Health.
Find clusters
25 districts of Austria were classified as high risk of spread on Thursday, according to Schmid. It is noted that risk reduction behavior is apparently easier to implement in high-density urban centers, according to a Corona Commission hypothesis. Thus, there are more “red” rural areas than, for example, the four big cities in Austria, which are orange. It is more difficult to implement the measures in the regional regions, the current red districts – you can tell that people are “tired”. However, he asked to continue to comply with the regulations.
The goal is essentially to reduce the rate of spread. According to the expert, this works best with a reduction in social contacts, especially in leisure activities. Above all, this applies to sitting together repeatedly.
He explained that the average age of those infected is now around 41 years. With all efforts, this should be reduced to a lower level in the next few days, Schmid said.
The most important task of the Crown Commission now is to find clusters in most of the red districts, control them and capture them. This is positive news, as sources can be discovered and a district can quickly reduce its risk of spread.
Contact-Tacing and Infektionsketten
Schmid explained that currently the authorities are still managing to stop the spread of the virus, together with those affected, who announce their contact persons and go into quarantine. This works fine.
However, it indicated that uncontrolled spread in the general population should be further reduced. An epidemic can only be controlled in the best possible way if the speed of spread is reduced and there is less or no clumping. Therefore, clusters still need to be identified by contact tracing and quick measures (quarantine, isolation) for deployment. This is the only way to prevent the infection chains from continuing to grow.
Screw social contacts
When asked why the new measures will only go into effect from Sunday and whether it is still unprofessional to announce them on such short notice, Anschober explained that it was crucial for him that the measures work. The timing of implementation, whether it is a day before or after, is not decisive for him. One must concentrate on the essentials and not deal with secondary issues.
In conclusion, both speakers called again to reduce social contacts, especially in their free time. Here you would be infected and take care of the domestic groups. Again, the source of those groups cannot be identified. It is only possible to prevent further spread by quarantining those affected. “Otherwise the epidemic would go haywire. We want to and will prevent it.”
