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More than 7000 new cases of corona were last reported in Austria per day. This means that numbers in the country continue to rise uncontrollably, despite stricter measures in the fight against the pandemic in place for a good two weeks.
With the partial closure imposed on November 3, the government hoped to control the infection figures. But it doesn’t look like that right now. Now adjustments have been made again in Vienna. The collapse of the healthcare system will be avoided with significantly stricter rules.
Starting next Tuesday, Austria will go into lockdown for the second time. “Even if nobody wants a second blockade, the second blockade is the only means by which we know for sure that it will work,” Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) told an afternoon press conference.
Full exit restrictions will go into effect on November 17. These should initially apply until December 6 inclusive. During this period, Austria closes schools and shops again. Exceptions apply to grocery stores, pharmacies, and drug stores. Curfews from the night before will extend to the entire day with a few exceptions.
“These measures are extremely drastic,” Kurz said. But you want to make sure that the blockage is strong enough that the number of infections decreases quickly as well. “This is the only way that we can prevent our healthcare system from being overwhelmed.”
The goal is to be able to reopen schools and trade on December 7. “The more people adhere to what is given here, the shorter this situation will be,” Kurz emphasized. This is how you can save Christmas.
The gastronomy, tourism, culture and leisure facilities in Austria have been closed for a good two weeks. Exit restrictions previously enforced from 8 pm to 6 am However, the number of infections initially continued to rise in the first half of November. On Friday, the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days was 554.2, in some regions even as high as 850.
The target value for new infections in seven days is less than a tenth of the current value, Kurz said. Authorities are now unable to track 77 percent of new infections. Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens) said that statistically every person infected with corona is infecting another 1.2 people. This so-called reproduction number should be reduced to 0.9.
Anschober warned that the healthcare system was reaching its limits in many areas. “So we need an emergency stop and really immediately,” he said. The stopping distance, the time until the numbers are permanently reduced, is two weeks.
The opposition accuses the government of losing control
Hospitals are already facing the limit, as the country’s top intensive care doctor warned again on Saturday. “If everything increases at this rate in the coming days, we will face a triage situation,” said Klaus Markstaller, president of the Austrian Society for Anesthesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care Medicine. Doctors would have to choose which patients can be treated in intensive care.
In Austria there is now a discussion about how the country could get into this situation. The government had repeatedly emphasized that it wanted to avoid a shutdown by all means. Health Minister Anschober had practically ruled out such strict measures almost exactly a month ago.
Opposition parties now accuse the government of losing control. “Now all Austrians are presented with the bill for the failure of the federal government,” said the head of the Social Democrats, Pamela Rendi-Wagner. The government neglected to follow up contacts and left the federal states and hospitals alone in the preparation of intensive care units.
