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Vorarlberg has lost its “orange” status again.
Due to the epidemiological development of recent days, the traffic light commission has now assessed the risk situation as very high for the whole of Austria and therefore turns red in everything, including Vorarlberg. Last week, the country was still excluded, although the Commission also saw worrying developments there. This is evident from the current risk assessment.
The reason is the burden on the health system, which has increased even more compared to the previous week. Intensive care unit utilization due to Covid 19 patients was 26.9 percent as of March 30, based on all registered adult intensive care beds in Austria. In the next two weeks, another increase in intensive care unit utilization is anticipated above the critical 33 percent for the system. In the eastern federal states of Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, the Covid-19 surface is already above this limit. For Upper Austria, the 33 percent limit is supposed to be exceeded in the next two weeks.
Master the British variant
Infections with the N501Y mutation dominate in all federal states, but predominantly the British variant B.1.1.7. Across Austria, the turnout was around 84 percent. The prevalence of B.1.1.7 is responsible for the increase in the number of patients in intensive care units. For this reason, the Traffic Light Commission recommends that all federal states, but especially the federal states of Vienna, Burgenland, Lower Austria and Upper Austria, take measures in hospitals to cope with the current critical load on the system.
In addition, coordination with the least affected federal states is recommended for any patient transfers to ensure adequate medical care. Only three of the 96 districts or regions have an incidence of seven days per 100,000 inhabitants under the age of 100 (as of March 29). In no district or region was this below 50.
The commission continues to welcome the closure in the eastern region at Easter, meanwhile, this has been extended to April 11, and calls for the necessary preventive measures to reduce contact, as well as regular testing in the whole area. These measures should also be used preventively in those federal states that have a seven-day incidence of more than 200 and a growing number of deposits. This could avoid the same situation as in the east. On the occasion of the Easter holidays, the Commission fears that there may be more contacts within the population.
(THAT)
