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The lockdown will take two more weeks, and the crucial question is whether something close to normal will return later. Meduni Vienna complexity researcher Peter Klimek dampens these expectations. “We have to be prepared for the fact that the initial steps will be carried out more slowly than after the first blockade,” he said in an interview with the OÖN. It is encouraging that the slight lockdown imposed in early November is showing initial success. But the reproduction factor must fall well below one, otherwise no loosening would make sense. The effects of the latest measures will not be measured until the end of next week, said Klimek, who is part of the research team calculating the spread of the pandemic for the government.
- Kogler at ORF press hour: School opening in December?
“Open schools again quickly”
Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens) was equally cautious in yesterday’s press hour: “Nothing is fixed at the moment.” You can only proceed “gradually and cautiously” with the expected relaxation, Kogler said. In retail, it will be good to ensure as many opening days as possible before Christmas. However, “behavioral” furniture stores and shopping malls that advertise extreme discounts on special days need to be reviewed more intensively. The possibility of a ski vacation depends on the containment of the infection process, but also on the “confidence of the outside”.
Kogler defended school closures. Even if they are not causing the infection, the virus would also be transmitted in schools. But everything must be done so that educational institutions can reopen on December 7. With additional security measures, as Kogler explained. He also defended the closure of cultural establishments: “The point was to reduce contacts to everyone, in all areas of society.”
The measures did not come too late, but the second wave was “slightly underestimated”, admitted the vice chancellor. After blocking, the main thing is to ensure the management of the contact person within 24 hours. Above all, it holds the federal states responsible, Kogler said. With that he got the criticism from the Neos. It was “unworthy of a chancellor” to clean up with the federal states and deport the protection of risk groups, said Neos social spokesman Gerald Loacker. The SPÖ sees in Kogler a “moderating high-level commentator” who is “only on the fringes” of the pandemic, said club president Jörg Leichtfried. He misses a strategy for how the government wants to avoid a third shutdown. FP club president Dagmar Belakowitsch also sees the Greens as “excluded from the decisions” in the Corona debate.
ÖGK is pushing for financial aid from the federal government
Since a conversation five weeks ago, no one has heard from the federal government and nothing has been included in the budget. With this criticism, Andreas Huss, president of the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) spoke yesterday. Urges already promised financial aid for crown-related problems. Other than an announced “deal”, nothing has happened yet, Huss said. According to management’s current forecast, ÖGK expects a loss of almost € 200 million this year. The situation in 2021 will be even more dramatic, because a large part of the deferrals granted due to the Corona crisis would have to be canceled, according to the employee representative Huss. This alone is about 320 million euros. Although the ÖGK is still liquid and has reserves, it cannot be lived on in the long term, Huss asserted the “urgent need for quick help”.
(wins / eiba)
