Use the pandemic’s cooling phase to build inventory.
Wien. The Austrian Medical Association (ÖÄK) spoke out on Thursday for a far-reaching reintroduction of the mask requirement. The measures taken by the government had benefited, but the curve of new infections is rising again. In fact, over 100 newly infected people were registered again within 24 hours.
According to the ÖÄK, the numbers in Austria are still “very good”. “They rise slowly, don’t explode,” stated ÖÄK President Thomas Szekeres. However, the voluntary nature of the masks does not work. “If you can’t do it voluntarily, you have to make it compulsory, and as soon as possible,” said ÖAK President Thomas Szekeres at a press conference.
Infectiologist Herwig Lindner, ÖAK Vice President, said: “We are in a phase of cooling off the pandemic, and this phase must be used.” The measures taken by the government have benefited, but the curve of new infections is rising again.
More than a hundred new infections
This increase was also confirmed on Thursday by figures: Within 24 hours, more than a hundred people were newly infected with the new corona virus. According to figures from the Interior Ministry, 116 people tested positive for Covid-19 from Wednesday to Thursday (as of 9:30 a.m.).
1,315 people are actively infected with the virus. The new infections since the last notification are divided among the federal states of Austria as follows: Burgenland: 1 (active: 19), Carinthia: 1 (active: 18), Lower Austria: 27 (active: 130), Upper Austria: 37 (active: 523 ), Salzburg: 7 (active: 51), Styria: 9 (active: 96), Tyrol: 2 (active: 40), Vorarlberg: 1 (active: 5) and Vienna: 31 (433).
The numbers also rose in the known clusters. In connection with the cluster around the Free Church “Pentecostal Church of God” in Lower Austria, nine more cases were registered, which means there are 22 current cases. According to a spokesman for the Lower Austrian State Health Councilor Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig (SPÖ), 270 people were still under surveillance. The number of coronavirus infections in connection with the cluster around the slaughterhouse in Eggenburg (Horn district) increased by four to 38.
Covid clusters in two police inspections
The corona tests performed on 101 officers after the appearance of a Covid cluster in two police inspections in the city of Salzburg were largely negative. As a police spokesman told the APA on Thursday, only a sixth was added to the five known cases. For this, the authorities reported four new infections in an asylum district in Bergheim (Flachgau). Here too, the contacts of the sick are currently being collected.
In Upper Austria, where most of the active cases currently exist, the situation has stabilized “from today’s perspective”. “An uncontrolled outbreak of infections could be prevented. The number of reproductions in Upper Austria is 1.1. The daily new infections level off to an average of 36 – controllable infection numbers, but still a little too high,” said a statement by Governor Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP).
According to Wiener Linien, ÖBB will also be able to impose penalties in the future if passengers fail to comply with the nose and mouth protection obligation. From Monday a fine of 40 euros is possible. Anyone who does not comply with the train staff’s request and does not wear an MNS can also be expelled from the train, the ÖBB reported.
Internationally, especially in Israel, the fear of a second wave grew in view of the rapidly increasing numbers. The Israeli Ministry of Health announced on Thursday that 1,758 cases had been reported the previous day – a record high.
24,892 people were tested on Wednesday, and the infection rate was also around seven percent higher than ever before. If this trend continues, a new lockdown is expected shortly.
Record number of new infections also in Tokyo
Japan’s capital Tokyo also recorded a record of new corona infections. The city government confirmed 286 new cases of infection within 24 hours on Thursday, as the Japanese TV channel NHK reported.
The increasing number of new infections also fueled concerns about a second wave of infections in Japan. Since the outbreak of the corona pandemic, there have been more than 23,700 confirmed cases of infection in Japan, and around 1,000 people have died so far.
In France, the mask will become mandatory again: Due to the increasing number of infections, the country will introduce a mask requirement in all closed rooms that are open to the public from next week. It was a “preventive” measure, the new head of government Jean Castex emphasized on Thursday in the Paris Senate.
The sad leader in active cases was once again the USA. The number of new corona infections reached a new record here: According to the Johns Hopkins University, 67,632 new cases of infection were registered within 24 hours from Wednesday evening (local time). The number of corona deaths rose by 795 to more than 137,200.
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