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New confirmed infections are consistently lower on Mondays because labs enter fewer test results into EMS’s epidemiological reporting system on weekends than on weekdays. Anschober therefore presented a comparison of the previous assembly in November, the month with the “massively higher values” in the context of the pandemic in Austria. According to the minister, on the first Monday of the month 5,993 new cases were registered, a week later there were 4,657, on November 16 then 4,135, the last Monday 3,145 and now, the last of the month, 2,748.
Lowering the 3,000 mark is “good and should give us motivation,” the department head said. However, only about 15,000 tests were recorded, significantly less than the November average, where almost 30,000 tests were recorded per day.
Fortunately, the number of recoveries was significantly greater than the number of new infections – according to Anschober, it was 4,694 in 24 hours. However, 79 deaths have also been added since Sunday. In hospitals, the number of Covid 19 patients increased by 89, in intensive care units by 10 to a total of 701 seriously ill patients.
According to the Interior Ministry, there have been a total of 282,456 SARS-CoV-2 infections and 3,184 SARS-related deaths since the start of the pandemic in Austria. According to this information, the number of people recovered amounted to a total of 221,692. On Monday, 3,639 normal beds in Austrian hospitals were occupied with corona patients.
New infections by federal state: Burgenland (107), Carinthia (180), Lower Austria (619), Upper Austria (521), Salzburg (232), Styria (343), Tyrol (268), Vorarlberg (112), Vienna ( 366).
The initial steps after the shutdown, which was decided next Sunday, are still open. Health Minister Anschober declined to comment on the details of the possible easing. Like the Ministry of Education, it referred to the Council of Ministers on Wednesday at the request of the APA. Before decisions are made, the government still wants to wait for the development of the number of infections and in hospitals.
Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) already indicated in an interview at the weekend that postponing the first easing steps for a few days cannot be completely ruled out. The objective is to carry out “careful opening procedures” in shops and schools as of December 7. However, this depends on the number of infections. The taller they are, “the more difficult it will be to take the first steps,” Kurz had explained. And furthermore: “We will have to live with more massive restrictions after December 7.”
In any case, it is clear that in a first step only schools and shops should be reopened, but here too safety regulations must be expected. It is assumed that, as in spring, stores can only accommodate a certain number of customers, depending on their size.
Education Minister Heinz Faßmann (ÖVP) has already made it clear that schools will not function normally after they open. Faßmann more recently called for all schools to open on December 7, but at the same time announced that school operations would be initially different, for example with the mandatory mask also in class, the possibility of autonomous shift work, start and finish Staggered from school or move to other Building. More recently, there was also an extension of distance learning to the upper grades or its general conversion to shift work.
Meanwhile, the heads of the nine public hospital operators warned in a letter to Health Minister Anschober that the opening would be too quick. After the lockdown ended on December 6, steps should be taken to “reduce the incidence of infections and keep them low,” the “Kleine Zeitung” reported in advance.
The letter is signed by the directors of the nine public hospitals, including Krages (Burgenland), Kabeg (Carinthia), the Upper Austrian health holding company, Salk (Salzburg), Kages (Styria), Tirol Kliniken, the operating company of the Vorarlberg hospital, the Vienna Health Association and the Lower Austrian regional clinics. Participation. The letter has not yet reached Anschober’s office, reportedly should be sent no later than Tuesday.
According to the letter, the second wave has “pushed public hospitals to the limit of their capacities.” Thanks to the “excellent performance will and personal commitment of the employees”, the “high treatment effort” for the patients could be achieved.
The representatives of the nine hospital associations welcome the closure. “The first noticeable effects” can already be seen, but a “significant and sustainable reduction in the number of infections and, therefore, in the hospitalization rate is urgent to relieve our staff. A small number is essential for the” gradual start and guarantee of normal operation “.
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