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It will be decided soon if triages will be necessary in the hospital.
Vienna A few days after the start of the second lockdown, the situation regarding the corona pandemic is getting worse: from Thursday to Friday, 6,464 new infections were reported in Austria, especially many in Upper Austria and Styria. But what worries those responsible even more: the use of intensive care units has increased even more.
421 Covid 19 patients had to be treated there on Friday. For November 18, 750 people are forecast, said Herwig Ostermann, managing director of Gesundheit Österreich GmbH. This means that the health system is reaching its limits. According to the forecast, there will be a total of 3,500 patients in hospital treatment – on Friday there were already 2504. And that remains the optimistic estimate: Ostermann emphasized that the forecasts are based on the measures that have been in force since Tuesday that are being followed and they have a cushioning effect.
Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens) also assumes that the health system will move towards capacity limits in the second half of November. If it comes to that, it would have dramatic consequences, the minister said. Because then triages might be necessary, in which doctors have to choose which patients receive highly professional treatments and which do not. “We have to prevent Austria from getting into this situation,” Anschober repeated his call for the population to reduce their contacts. “It is a race against time,” said the Minister of Health.
A consequence of the increasing number of infections: Tracing the routes of infection is only possible to a limited extent. More recently, the source was only cleared in 27 percent of infection cases. At calendar week 39, there was still a satisfactory proportion of follow-up cases, but this value had decreased dramatically. In 72 percent of the cases, the source of the infection is unclear, explained Daniela Schmid, spokesperson for the Corona Commission. However, he emphasized that the allocation of cases takes longer in the current situation, as with several thousand new cases of infection each day, the follow-up of contact persons naturally also takes longer. This delays the search for sources, but it can be assumed that the number of sources of infection clarified will increase again in the coming weeks, Schmid explained.
Does the lock work?
What are the consequences of the aggravated situation? The answer: none at the moment. The Corona traffic light turned red in all districts of Austria on Thursday, but this does not cause any further adjustment. And the Minister of Health also wants to wait. Anschober doesn’t want more measures like school closings for now, as long as you don’t know how the closure works. The government does not want to meet until Friday next week and decide whether further steps are necessary. However, if the situation were to change drastically in a certain area, it could also intervene on short notice.
No statements can be made about the effectiveness of the blockade, Anschober says. That would take at least ten days, so the evaluation will take place next Friday, November 13. In any case, the Minister of Health expects a “remarkable stabilization” in the next week. You have the good impression that the restrictions are being respected. The district captains informed the Minister of Health that the population was increasingly aware that the situation was dire. Anschober himself went for a walk with his dog on Thursday night, as he was allowed, and virtually no one was on public transportation or outside except for a few joggers.
“Tell the truth”
The Minister of Health also asks for help from infected people: when it comes to contact tracing, the truth must be told to be able to contact all contact persons. Contact persons should take responsibility independently and go into quarantine, Schmid said. In any case, the management of the contact person will be maintained in full. (maf)
