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“My personal dream would be to receive fewer than 1,000 cases a day,” he said in an interview with APA. He has high hopes for vaccination, but warns against a false sense of security: continue to be careful, measures such as the obligation of the MNS will accompany Austria for months. Anschober wants to hold on to the planned end of the shutdown in mid-January.
The expected expiration date of the tough measures currently in effect on January 24 or 18 (for all those who “get released”) will remain from the current perspective. “That’s the stated goal. At the moment it looks a lot like that,” Anschober said. Expect the Christmas holidays to have an impact on the number of new infections. “But at the same time, we have had the lockdown regulations since December 26 and they will have a strong impact. That means: overall, there should be a significant reduction in the number of infections.”
The stated “minimum target” is to bring the seven-day incidence below 100 (from around 150 today). The Minister of Health wants to see the reproduction factor at a maximum of 0.8 – “if in some way it can go down a bit”, he repeated his objectives. And he wants to boost intensive care beds occupied by corona patients from over 400 to 200. “Because then, for the first time in a long time, we would have a relatively ‘normal’ work situation in the ICU (intensive care units, note ), with the possibility of gradually compensating for operations that have been postponed. “
Video: Corona Year Review
With the massive free tests planned for mid-January, “the infection situation will be reduced once again” (as the federal government has already announced) even those infected without symptoms are eliminated from the infection cycle. As announced, the minister wants to present the specific rules for the tests in the first week of January; By then, it should be precisely defined which professional groups should be tested regularly. Basically these are already fixed, so the minister: These are teachers, primary school teachers, hairdressers, other services related to the body, the catering sector and commerce with customer contact, as well as transport employees public with direct contact with passengers and health professions with “more intensive contact with the patient”. A legal resolution is still required for mass testing, and this must also take place in early January.
After the massive tests come the vaccines
After massive testing, it is important to gradually move towards vaccines. Interested parties should not worry, they will be informed in due time, Anschober emphasized; People at particular risk are preferred. After the start of vaccination on December 27, phase 1 should continue in January, which is aimed at high-risk groups (residents and employees of the elderly and nursing homes, health workers at high risk of exposure and people with defined pre-existing conditions). Those affected will be informed directly at the facilities or operation sites.
In phase 2 from February to April (elderly population over 65, people in critical infrastructure), the interested institutions and then the general practitioners are the contact persons, the minister said. And for the general population, who will be offered a vaccination from the second quarter of 2021 until the summer, there will be offers in addition to general practitioners directly in the communities and companies (for example, vaccination streets).
However, Anschober warned against throwing away the usual protective measures (distance, hand hygiene and masks) with the start of vaccination: “Vaccination is the key to change things. This must now be accepted and implemented by the population. Especially the next The months during the launch of the vaccination will be another very difficult phase, since we will all have a special challenge again. Vaccination will not be a change of lever, it will be a step-by-step process to reduce risk ” . The goal is that everyone who wants to be vaccinated receives a vaccination offer for the summer, he repeated. The plan depends on the approval dates of vaccines and deliveries.
No forecast for Christmas 2021
The minister was also cautious about whether Christmas 2021 could be a “normal” one: “I do not trust myself to make a forecast. I hope that we will have a gradually easier life in the second half of 2021 and that the rather, we have limited the pandemic to a very small level. ” At first, Anschober was convinced that “the world after the pandemic will not be the same as it was before the pandemic.” Expect a “glocalisation”: although there is still an urgent need for cosmopolitanism on the one hand, with open borders, on the other hand, also expect a stronger regionalization in the economy and in purchasing behavior.
For schools, Anschober hopes to return to face-to-face lessons as planned from January 18. According to Anschober, no changes are envisaged to the current regulation that people in school classes or kindergarten groups who have close contact with children under the age of ten who have tested positive are classified as Category II contact and therefore Therefore, they can continue visiting the respective facilities. However, in early January, the general conditions for starting school will be reviewed together with the Ministry of Education and, among other things, regulations for children under the age of ten will be discussed.
