[ad_1]
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz takes Slovakia as a role model and wants to put a large part of the population to the test. In Slovakia there were curfews for those who refused to take the tests; our plans are still unclear.
Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) announced on Sunday massive tests to contain the corona epidemic: At the beginning of December, teachers will be evaluated for the time being to be able to guarantee a smooth reopening of schools on December 7. In a second step, there should be an even bigger test campaign before Christmas. The chancellor named Slovakia as a model: the previous week the neighboring country tried to test the entire population between the ages of 10 and 65.
It is not yet known to what extent Austria will follow this example. The Federal Chancellery said on Sunday that a test strategy would now be drawn up. Details should be announced later this week. Therefore, there is still much to clarify: Should the entire population be tested or only specific groups? How do you want to organize that? Should there be an obligation to take the test? “We certainly will not rely on coercion,” says the Foreign Ministry.
Deployment of assistance from the armed forces
The Slovak approach has been discussed for a long time. Austria also participated: soldiers of the armed forces supported Slovakia in the tests. And the armed forces should also provide assistance in Austria. But how far can Austria follow the example of Slovakia? Contrary to what the Austrian Chancellor initially announced, Slovakia did not start with individual professional groups, such as teachers. From the beginning, the goal was to test all residents over the age of ten twice, as completely as possible.
The fact that 3.6 million of the 5.5 million inhabitants queued for several hours in the first round of the formally voluntary tests was mainly due to the strict curfew: those who could not produce a negative test could not even go to work. This curfew only ended last weekend to quell the growing resentment in the population. Prime Minister Igor Matovič initially announced with a promise to participate in a test that this would avoid a lockdown. In fact, most events remained banned, with restaurants and schools largely closed the week after testing.
But how did it manage to test a large part of the population? As far as possible from a technical point of view, test stations were installed in all places where voting stations were planned. It was directed by the Ministry of Defense, the soldiers were assigned to auxiliary tasks, but the main burden was in charge of the local authorities, who hired thousands of volunteers. Many mayors complained that they were left alone with an unprecedented show of organizational force. The main difficulty was the lack of personnel with medical training.
Do not go out for the elderly
The government did not recommend testing people over 65. In practice, however, this would also have meant a dating ban for older people, which is why many of them would prefer to go for tests. Because only children were allowed to move around the country relatively freely without a test.
The success of the mass tests is controversial. While Matovič notes that his idea has found admirers and imitators from Liverpool to South Tyrol and now Austria as well, the Medical Association and many experts criticized the effort too great compared to the effect achieved. The healthcare system, which has been financially and personally depleted for years, has been completely overburdened at the expense of other tasks. The truly detectable decline in infections is more a consequence of exit restrictions and restaurant closures, which were largely in effect prior to testing, many experts say. In addition, the statistics are distorted by the effect of mass tests because many people suspected of having a crown did not attend the PCR tests; anyway, they had to go to the massive test. For the statistics that Slovakia reports to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), only PCR tests are used, but not the rapid antigen tests used in mass testing.
In Austria, the opposition reacted ambiguously to Kurz’s announcement: the Neos welcomed the massive tests, the FPÖ rejected them as a preliminary to a “forced vaccination”. The coalition partner spoke cautiously: He is currently in the middle of the working process on how to proceed after the shutdown, according to Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens): “A significant part of this may be massive testing.”
