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After closing, schools and retailers must reopen first beginning December 7. The opening of massive tests, similar to those in Slovakia, for teachers, for example, must be accompanied, said Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) at the ORF’s “press hour” on Sunday.
In an even bigger step, there should be such massive tests before Christmas to allow for the safest possible celebrations.
Resident curfew without a negative test
In Slovakia, through massive testing, it was possible to find tens of thousands of positive cases, which could then be sent to quarantine to massively reduce the infection rate, Kurz explained. Slovakia had asked the population between the ages of ten and 65 for rapid tests for Covid during the last weekends. 3.6 million of the 5.5 million inhabitants participated in the first round. Those who did not test negative were subject to a strict curfew and were not allowed to go to work.
Massive testing before Christmas
Now a similar step is being prepared in Austria, so Kurz wants to rely on massive tests at the end of the hard lockdown that has now been imposed. It concerns the school sector and certain groups such as teachers to be able to unlock again in the safest way possible before December 7. In an even bigger step, the Chancellor wants to use mass antigen testing before Christmas to “make Christmas the safest possible.” The “logistical challenge” of the massive tests will be prepared together with the federal states and the federal military. The government plans to provide details by the end of next week.
Crown numbers have to fall quickly
Now it’s a matter of quickly reducing the number of infections. At the end of these two and a half weeks, you will be able to take steps to open up again and “you can also save Christmas, but only if everyone participates.” First, schools and retailers should reopen on Dec. 7, Kurz said. Exactly how “will depend a lot on the infection process.”
Kurz calls for better contact tracing from the federal states
In any case, Kurz gave duties to the federal states: “Contact tracing in the federal states has to improve,” the chancellor demanded. At the moment, “they cannot be blamed” for the high number of infections, but countries “have a responsibility to position themselves perfectly” for the December 7 period, Kurz stressed. Kurz didn’t want to enter a specific number to open the steps. For the seven day incidence, a value of no more than 50 would be ideal, but you do not know if this will be achieved, Austria is currently above 500.
Chancellor defends distance education
The chancellor defended the switch to distance education: there are different concepts, but many accusations have turned out to be false, for example, that children cannot be infected. Of course it is a “total challenge”, but it is a limited time of two and a half weeks. For everyone in need, schools are also open to care, Kurz confirmed.
This also means that the new legal right to parental leave does not apply due to the closure. The legal claim is designed in the event that entire schools have to be closed due to crown cases for teachers or children, Kurz explained. Of course, schools are open to those who do not have the opportunity to care for their children at home.
“Every contact is too much”
Once again, Kurz appealed to the population: “Every contact is too much”, especially meetings in the private sphere “are the greatest danger.” Kurz expressed his understanding that it would be difficult to deal with a new blockage. Of course, there is also a need for improvement in the communication of measures, he admitted, but it is also clear that the population is somewhat tired, that this is “completely normal”.
When asked why he, as head of government, had not pushed for tougher measures before, he said that “we live in a democracy” and that the Federal Chancellor cannot “decide alone.” In recent weeks there have been repeated discussions with the federal states and other parties and there has been no will to take stricter measures. “I think the population was probably not ready to participate a few weeks ago either.”
Kurz sees no failures
Kurz doesn’t see any failure in the past. “It was not a mistake that we had a relatively normal summer,” because the alternative would have been a permanent blockade, which would have been socially and economically catastrophic. Certain developments of the virus are simply not predictable.
Vaccination as a “game changer”
“Vaccination will change the rules of the game,” Kurz was once again optimistic, saying he was happy with the progress made in the investigation. The Ministry of Health is preparing a vaccination strategy, whereby health workers and vulnerable groups will be vaccinated first. It assumes that vaccinations can be started gradually in the first quarter of 2021.
When asked about a general increase in unemployment benefits, Kurz said it was “not the goal.” He referred to one-time payments and also recycling measures, after all the goal is to get the unemployed back to work.
