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Austria sees red, at least if you look at the Corona traffic light map. The risk of contracting the coronavirus is increasing in much of the country. Flachgau, Pinzgau and Pongau are also affected in Salzburg. Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens) emphasized at a press conference on Friday: “The situation is very, very serious.”
It was a long and intense session, Anschober says on Friday. The commission, which decides on the Corona traffic light change every Thursday, turned another 21 districts to red at night. This means that all federal states, except Vienna and Carinthia, have regions with the highest level of risk. There were also many other districts that are now orange. Only Hermagor in Carinthia and Linz Land now have a better rating with yellow instead of orange. In Salzburg, the Flachgau, the Pongau and the Pinzgau were stained red, the Tennengau was already red.
The situation is “very, very serious,” Anschober stressed. “The pandemic is increasing around the world, we have not yet reached its peak.” A third of the new infections would come from Europe. Austria has a seven-day incidence of 134, similar to Italy but significantly higher than Germany or Hungary. This value indicates the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last seven days.
Hospital capabilities: “There is still room for improvement”
The Health Minister reiterated that the stated objective is to avoid closure. “I am optimistic that we can do it.” Hospital capabilities are an important parameter for this assessment. A blockade would only be called into question “when we are faced with a collapse of the health system.”
However, the red traffic light does not show the use of hospital capacities, but rather the risk of contagion in the respective regions, explained Daniela Schmid, spokeswoman for the Crown Commission and head of the AGES infection epidemiology department. As of October 15, six percent of the 2,000 intensive care beds in Austria were occupied by Covid patients, and eight percent on October 22. According to forecasts, 12 percent capacity utilization should be achieved by November 4. “The trend is up, but we still have room for improvement,” says Anschober. Therefore, there is no reason to panic.
Anschober: “Halloween shouldn’t go off the rails this year”
However, the minister asked not to travel during the fall holidays. “Please stay home.” Also on All Saints’ Day on November 1 the recommendation is to avoid contacts and Halloween, on October 31, should not “get off the rails” this year, according to him. Celebrating, especially with alcohol, is currently not recommended. Schmid also emphasized: “Infection often occurs during leisure time. Celebrations, meals together, and even storks standing with friends can carry infection risks.” Therefore, social contacts in free time should be reduced, whenever possible.
Health Minister Anschober once again stressed the importance of hygiene and distance regulations, the Corona application and tests, which should be carried out more quickly in the future. According to Anschober, the fact that the new regulation does not enter into force on Friday, but on Sunday is because it involves extensive interventions in many areas of life. Therefore, it was decided to give two more days so that people could find out about the situation. The opposition, especially SPÖ leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner, accuses the government of “showing politics.” The government must also put on the table the text of the corresponding regulation at the same time as its press conference, it demands. Also the president of the club FPÖ, Herbert Kickl, locates a “chaos of regulation and traffic lights”.
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Photo: SN / APA / ROLAND SCHLAGER
Daniela Schmid, spokesperson for the Crown Commission and head of the Department of Infection Epidemiology at AGES.
These districts have been recolored
Neusiedl am See in Burgenland in Lower Austria St. Pölten Stadt, Amstetten (changed directly from yellow to red), Bruck an der Leitha, Mödling and Tulln, in Upper Austria Gmunden, Grieskirchen, Ried im Innkreis, Rohrbach, Schärding and Vöcklabruck they were red, in Salzburg, in the Salzburg area, St. Johann im Pongau and Zell am See, in Styria Leoben and Voitsberg, in Tirol Imst, Landeck and Schwaz and in Vorarlberg the Rheintal / Walgau region. Compared to the previous week, the districts of Wels Stadt in Upper Austria, Hallein in Salzburg as well as Innsbruck Stadt and Innsbruck Land in Tyrol remained unchanged in red.
In 23 other districts, the risk assessment is now high, so the traffic light has changed to orange. The traffic lights in Lilienfeld (Lower Austria), Eferding (Upper Austria) and southeastern Styria changed from green to orange. Oberpullendorf in Burgenland, Klagenfurt Stadt in Carinthia, Melk and Neunkirchen in Lower Austria, Braunau am Inn, Freistadt, Steyr Land and Urfahr Umgebung in Upper Austria, the city of Salzburg and Tamsweg in the federal state of Salzburg, the city of Graz, Deutschlandsberg , Graz Surroundings have been upgraded from yellow to orange, Leibnitz, Liezen, Weiz, Murtal and Hartberg-Fürstenfeld in Styria and the Bregenzerwald / Kleinwalsertal and Montafon / Brandnertal regions in Vorarlberg. Yellow instead of green became Spittal an der Drau and Wolfsberg in Carinthia, Kirchdorf an der Krems in Upper Austria and Lienz and Reutte in Tyrol.
The press conference to take a look:
Those: APA
