Shortly before the country opened up, the number of infections skyrocketed to almost 40,000 on Wednesday, and on Thursday the number of infections over the past 24 hours was around 30,000.
Im S1-Morgenjournal, epidemiologist Gerald Gartlehner was asked whether the high numbers are actually related to the end of the semester break and more tests: “There are certainly several reasons why the numbers are still so high. It is certain that the children are back in school one of those, but we’re also seeing the second variant of omicron becoming dominant.”
For him, the situation is “a bit” worrying because experts had expected the numbers to go down significantly further in March.
Opening on Saturday
So are the weekend openings too early and is the peak of the wave being delayed as a result? “Of course, opening everything on Saturday is exactly the opposite of what you would do with these high numbers of infections.”
Although the opening would not lead to an acute overload of the hospitals and intensive care units, with a high incidence of infection in the population, there is also a risk of illness and absences in important professional groups such as medical staff.
This can lead to similar supply bottlenecks as if intensive care units were overcrowded: certain operations or therapies could then not be carried out.
masks and testing
“Basically: Now it would of course be good if politicians took note of the high numbers and left certain basic measures in place. For example, the obligation to wear masks indoors would be important if it stayed: There are also current figures from the USA that FFP2 Indoor masks can reduce the risk of infection by 80 percent.” Such measures should be maintained.
The expert would differentiate when it comes to test management: diagnostic testing for people who feel ill should be available to everyone with low thresholds and free of charge. When testing the healthy and asymptomatic, there is an urgent need for a strategy that is limited to high-risk areas and the vulnerable. According to the expert, “too much” would also be tested in schools.
The quarantine and tracing of contact persons should also be reconsidered, because that no longer works in practice anyway, says Gartlehner im S1-Morning journal.
Low number of first stitches
6.2 million Austrians have an active vaccination certificate (69.86 percent of the total population and 73.42 percent of the vaccinable population).
The epidemiologist at Danube University Krems blames the lack of interest in registering for first stitches – despite compulsory vaccination – on contradicting political messages.
“On the one hand everything is opened in one day and on the other hand there is a vaccination requirement, which would mean that the situation is worrying. These are contradictions that of course cannot be reconciled. And the population then do what they want.”
The same problems in autumn?
Things that now work well, such as the structures for low-threshold testing, must now be preserved and Austria must now scientifically work through what has worked well or badly in pandemic management.
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