14. November 2020 – 21:51 Clock
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Vienna (dpa) – Austria will go into a so-called lockdown for just under three weeks from Tuesday due to the threat of overloading the health system. As at the beginning of the Corona crisis in spring, most shops and schools have to close.
Leaving private living space is only permitted for compelling reasons such as fulfilling basic needs, work, helping relatives, for example, and outdoor recreation. The government around Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced the measures on Saturday in Vienna.
“Even if nobody wants a second lockdown, the second lockdown is the only means that we reliably know that it will work,” said Kurz. The restrictions apply from midnight on Tuesday and are expected to end on December 6th. The exit restrictions must be re-approved every ten days by Parliament’s main committee.
Shops for daily needs, such as supermarkets, drug stores, pharmacies and banks, remain open. Schools need to move to distance learning. However, like kindergartens, they should offer care when required. If possible, employees should work from home.
Private meetings are limited to one partner, individual close relatives or caregivers. People who live alone should choose a single person to be in contact with, Kurz asked. “My urgent request for the next few weeks is: Don’t meet anyone! Every social contact is one too many”.
The goal is to be able to reopen schools and trade on December 7th. “The more people stick to what is given here, the shorter this state of affairs will last,” emphasized Kurz. This is how you can save Christmas.
Gastronomy, tourism, cultural businesses and leisure facilities have been closed in Austria since November 3rd. Exit restrictions previously applied from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. 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 within 7 days was 554.2, in individual regions even up to 850.
The target value for new infections within seven days is less than a tenth of the current value, emphasized Kurz. Authorities are now unable to trace 77 percent of new infections. Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens) said that statistically, every person infected with corona is currently infecting 1.2 other people. This so-called reproduction number must be reduced to 0.9 – then 10 sick people would theoretically infect 9 people.
Anschober warned that the health system was reaching its limits in many areas. “So we need an emergency stop and really immediately,” he said. The braking distance – the time until a sustainable reduction in the numbers – is two weeks.
The hospitals are already facing the limit, as the country’s top intensive care doctor warned again on Saturday. “If the whole thing should increase at this rate in the next few days, we will face a situation of triage,” said the President of the Austrian Society for Anesthesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care Medicine, Klaus Markstaller. Doctors would then have to choose which patients can be treated in intensive care.
But how could the situation develop so badly again? Were there any failures? There was some heated argument about this on Saturday. The government had repeatedly emphasized that it wanted to prevent a lockdown by all possible means. Health Minister Anschober had practically ruled out such strict measures almost exactly a month ago. “I can not imagine that at all,” he told ORF on October 11th. That is only possible before a comprehensive collapse of the health system. “Thank God we are miles away from that,” he said at the time.
The opposition parties have now accused the government of losing control. “Now all Austrians get the bill for the management failure of the federal government,” said the head of the Social Democrats, Pamela Rendi-Wagner. The government neglected contact tracking and left the federal states and hospitals alone in preparing the intensive care units.
Closing schools remained a major point of contention. According to the media, the Corona expert commission spoke out against it on Thursday. The Federal Chancellery was a supporter of the measures. The schools should remain open, stressed Rendi-Wagner. The chairwoman of the liberal Neos, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, announced that she would examine legal steps because of the school closings.
“Open schools were our goal because we are convinced of the value of education and the social function of schools,” said Education Minister Heinz Faßmann (ÖVP) on Saturday. But the situation is precarious and health is a priority. “Schools are not drivers of infection, but neither are they infection-free.” Schools and teachers are better prepared for the closings than in the spring.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201114-99-329654 / 7
Source: DPA
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