The first day of mass testing has started in Austria

First day of the mass crown test in Austria: people show up en masse

Massive corona tests started in Austria on Friday with technical breakdowns and great interest. The project, which has been massively publicized by the government, started on a large scale in the federal states of Vienna, Tirol and Vorarlberg. Long lines formed in front of the test stations, at least sometimes.

“We will discover the positives, that’s the aim of the campaign,” said Innsbruck Mayor Georg Willi (Greens). The fact that the software supplied by the federal government did not work hardly matters. The authorities would know what to do. Citizens praised the organization, which was often perceived as fluid.

The mass test, in which millions of Austrians must be voluntarily tested for the virus, is currently the central strategy against the corona in the Alpine republic. The check is done by a rapid antigen test. If the result is positive, the more accurate PCR test is used to verify again.

In the Austrian capital, thanks to the deployment of the armed forces, an infrastructure was built in two large pavilions and the fair, which is enough for 150,000 tests per day. “There is still capacity,” an army spokesman said on Friday afternoon on channel OE24. Some experts had critically pointed out that a negative result could also provide false security and reduce obstacles to meetings in a larger group.

Due to the nearly three-week lockdown, which will be lifted again next Monday, at least for trade, the high number of infections in Austria had recently decreased significantly. However, the government formed by the conservative ÖVP and the Greens is taking a more cautious opening-up course. This also includes travel restrictions during Christmas and New Years. Anyone entering from a risk area must undergo a ten-day quarantine, which can end after the fifth day at least with a negative PCR test.

In the case of mass testing, Austria is also building on experiences in neighboring Slovakia with nationwide testing on All Saints’ weekend (October 31 and November 1). Participation was formally voluntary, but anyone who didn’t have a negative test couldn’t even go to work for two weeks. Thus, in the first of several rounds of testing alone, 3.6 million of the 5.5 million inhabitants underwent rapid antigen testing.

In view of the cost of millions of tests in Slovakia, there was no more capacity to follow up the contacts of those who tested positive. Also, despite knowing that rapid antigen tests were less reliable, there were no control tests if someone tested positive. Slovakia is now gradually moving away from its strategy. Massive nationwide corona tests planned again for the first weekend of December have been postponed indefinitely.

Another example of massive testing is the South Tyrol region in northern Italy. After a corona mass test that lasted several days, a positive balance was extracted in the second half of November. In the small Alpine province, more than 350,000 citizens underwent a free smear test. There were queues at the stations for rapid antigen testing. The goal, which is important for success, was achieved with precision, even though it was voluntary. About 3,600 participants (about 1 percent) received a corona positive result at the end. He has been ordered to quarantine himself. (sierra / sda / dpa)

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