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If a person tests positive for coronavirus, this triggers a procedure. Contact tracing is used to try to find and isolate potential contacts quickly. One way of doing this is the so-called “official call”. We ask in which cases it is used and who makes the decision.
In the last three days alone there were four official calls in Salzburg. Three of them refer to the state capital, one to Flachgau. On Sunday, visitors to a gym were asked to monitor their health for the next few days. It emerged on Monday that this also applies to those people who were bowling at Sport-OASE-Salzburg on September 11. On Tuesday, finally, the following two calls followed: the Eurospar in Forum 1 and the bus line 120 between the main station and Obertrum (Flachgau) are affected. There have been a total of 13 such notices in the state since August, and some locations were hit multiple times.
Health authorities decide on appeal
Experts from the health authority decide whether or not there will be a public appeal, explains Jochen Höfferer from the Salzburg City Information Center when asked by SALZBURG24. This decision is closely related to contact tracing.
With this method the authorities try to trace the infection chains and thus prevent further spread. The goal is to isolate the infected person within 24 hours. In the next 24 hours the contact persons must be collected and after another 24 hours they must also separate. The chain of infection must be known within three days. In Salzburg, contact tracing begins even before the test result, that is, when registering for the Covid-19 test with the health number 1450. “That means a lot more work for the health authorities,” explains Franz Wieser, Salzburg state press spokesperson, at S24- Conversation. In each of the five district authorities, a core team of up to 15 people participates in this every day. If more cases or larger clusters occur, up to 50 people in a district administration can help with contact tracing.
When contacts don’t fit into categories
You are considered a contact person if you have been around an infected person 48 hours before the onset of symptoms or a positive corona test. Then these people are divided into two categories. The short definition: Anyone who has been within a distance of less than two meters and for more than 15 minutes near the person who tested positive is considered a category one contact person. If the contact lasted less than 15 minutes at a distance of less than two meters, this means category two (a detailed definition can be found here:
PDF: Official procedure for contact persons of SARS-CoV-2.pdf
). If the contacts cannot be clearly divided into these two categories, a risk assessment is carried out. And “then our experts decide again and again: now let’s make an appeal,” describes Höfferer.
Emphasize that this is a preventive measure. Therefore, anyone who is in the affected place at the specified time should monitor their own health. If symptoms occur, contact Health Hotline 1450. If there is a test for Covid-19, the process starts over.
