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Contact tracing would have had to be staffed and organized and prepared for a second wave. A plan should have been made with the federal states and hospitals on how to specifically increase intensive care units. A safety concept for daily school life should have been developed so that the lessons can take place, with ventilation, with masks, with a test strategy for the teaching staff. Instead, there was a public relations race between government partners in the summer, and there was talk of the light at the end of the tunnel too early. That was a big mistake by Sebastian Kurz. Now everyone has to pay for these rulings, including those that have strictly adhered to all the guidelines, from which I understand the growing discontent in the population. If the government is now exclusively cleansing itself of the population, that is cheap.
School closings are also about getting parents out of touch. Isn’t that an argument for you?
Closing is the simplest, there is no need for competition, anyone can do that. The collateral damage to closed schools is enormous, from lack of exercise for children to students’ mental health and attention issues. I would like to point out that hospital staff, nurses and doctors also have children, but they are needed in their workplace. Closing schools is a measure of little use and great harm.
Where would you take specific action?
To take specific action, I must know where people are actually infected. But contact tracing no longer works. Only every 13 cases can be tracked. I wonder on what basis the government is acting. That seems like a blind flight to me.
In reality, the situation seems to have vanished. What do you think of testing the entire population, as in Slovakia, to get an overview again?
I’m afraid we don’t have the human or organizational resources for this. I advocate for a centrally coordinated testing strategy that starts wisely where infections are to be avoided: in nursing homes and nursing homes, with teachers, and even at major events, all visitors could be screened. New antigen tests are quick, you have the result in five minutes, and you can do them yourself at home. Teachers could evaluate themselves once a week, they could also provide tests to restaurant staff, generally all people who have many contacts.
Is that affordable?
Failure to do so causes much greater damage: health, economic and social.
Vienna City Councilor for Health Peter Hacker says the epidemic notification system is only designed for 7,000 salmonella cases a year. As a section chief and minister, you were responsible for pandemic preparedness until three years ago, is that correct? Is everything so outdated?
EMS is a database, nothing more and nothing less. The database is not out of date, but it is only as good as it is cared for and maintained. If there is no staff there, errors can occur. It’s like tracing contacts: the summer could have also been used to increase staff.
How can things continue after this lockdown? Now comes the Christmas shopping, then the family celebrations: will January return to where we are now?
If Covid’s management does not improve drastically, the federal government leads Austria directly into a third lockdown. We are all talking about the second now, but the point is that the path to the third lockdown is scheduled unless management improves tremendously.
If we talk about negligence, at the beginning of the pandemic there was a lack of protective equipment for health workers. Wasn’t it foreseeable for you that a pandemic would come?
The dimension of this pandemic has not existed in the whole world for 100 years. No wonder one was not 1 to 1 ready for dimension. But it’s been eight months since then, you’ve gained experience and you have to use it. Therefore, I have suggested that the experts accompany the new blockade so that they can see which measures are effective and which are less effective.
How do you rate the advertised vaccination?
Don’t expect miracles. It is not just a vaccine. You need a vaccination schedule so that you can vaccinate as many as possible as quickly as possible. For the elderly who cannot go outside. mobile vaccination teams must be created.
There are more and more opponents of vaccines in Austria. How do you get people vaccinated?
The most important thing is honest and trustworthy communication. You have to explain what type of vaccine it is, what side effects it has, why we need it. Miracles cannot be promised that will not happen. This vaccine may not prevent infection, it will simply turn a severe course into an easy one. That would also be a big step forward because it would take the pressure off the healthcare system and especially the intensive care units.
Regarding terrorism: The government refuses to give the opposition a voice in the investigation of the errors in the Ministry of the Interior and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. What are you gonna do about it?
The central question is: could this attack have been prevented? There are signs of serious errors on the part of the Ministry of the Interior, which must be cleared up quickly, seriously and independently. I am skeptical when the Minister of the Interior in charge organizes his own commission of inquiry. We will seek clarification from the National Security Council and Parliament’s Secret Service Committee. If that does not help, we will use parliamentary instruments that go further.
Did you expect more support from the Greens to ask for clarification and transparency in the event of BAT breakdowns?
The Greens are in a center-right coalition and have so far supported what the ÖVP demands. But I am already appealing to the democratic conscience of the Greens. If there is political responsibility for the protection status of the constitution, then it lies with the ÖVP. After almost twenty years at the helm of the Interior Ministry, it must be said that the ÖVP is a party of insecurity.
Red-rose is currently being created in Vienna. Is social liberal generally a political concept for you?
Pinkish red in Vienna is exciting, brave, and unlike Germany, new to Austria. There is some overlap between the two parties, in social policy, human rights and education, and in a strong commitment to democracy, the rule of law and freedom. The Social Democracy represents a society based on solidarity, in which everyone has the opportunity to perform well and lead a full life. I can well imagine that the Neos will be there too. There is also fruitful cooperation in parliament between the SPÖ and Neos, also personally between Beate Meinl-Reisinger and myself.
Some more personal questions, so to speak. Are you still helping with the Samaritan Union?
Yes, volunteer once a week. Now it is important to tackle together. I’m where you need me, once on the test street, once at public flu vaccination drives. That also gives me the opportunity to get out of politics for a few hours. That is the foundation.
How is the pandemic affecting your family? What do you say to your children?
I tell them to wash their hands and not to go out without masks. Getting together with friends is almost nil, which is a big problem for teenagers. But they are brave. The older one was looking forward to dance class, none of that can happen now.
