Austria at EU Corona Traffic Light Red – Coronavirus

This is intended to coordinate travel restrictions and to some extent standardize them. The EU Corona traffic light is a card of the European Health Agency ECDC, which is based on data from member states. The deciding factor is the number of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks, the rate of positive versus negative tests, and overall the testing rate.

“It is our joint duty to ensure the coordination of all measures that restrict freedom of movement and to give our citizens all the information they need to decide on their travels,” said German Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth.

Austria in red

There is a red light for all those countries whose new infections are greater than 50 or the positive test rate is four percent or more, or if the new infection rate is greater than 150. For such risk areas, the countries of the EU may stipulate quarantine and testing upon entry. This is bad news for Austria, because our country received a red rating on Tuesday.

With the 7-day incidence, Austria is currently at a value of 82.9 corona cases per 100,000 inhabitants and is therefore clearly in the “red” zone of the EU traffic light. According to the AGES panel, 1,822,931 corona tests have been performed since the start of the pandemic, of which 56,591 were positive. That corresponds to a rate of 3.1 percent.

Decision without the vote of Austria

European Minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP) abstained from the EU ministers’ decision. He criticized the APA for having preferred to continue negotiating. For Edtstadler, the EU’s crown traffic light is not sufficiently differentiated. According to her, most regions of Europe are colored red and an increase in red is no longer possible.

“We want precise criteria, we want predictability in terms of travel warnings and evaluations from other countries,” the politician is also quoted. In Luxembourg, he came out in favor of uniform quarantine times and the opportunity to freely test himself.