Regardless of the high number of cases, almost all corona protection measures in Austria should fall from Saturday. On Thursday there were increasing indications that Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) would resign. He is to be succeeded by the Vorarlberg State Councilor for the Environment, Johannes Rauch (Greens). Mückstein has announced a “personal statement” for the afternoon. According to media reports, the reason for his resignation is that he was “very unhappy” about the turquoise-green decisions of the past few weeks in connection with the Corona crisis. Above all, he did not want to support the complete opening on March 5th. In a statement on Wednesday, however, he saw no “reason for concern” in the almost 40,000 new infections. “The openings planned for March 5 can therefore take place as planned,” he wrote on Wednesday.
Gartlehner fears supply bottlenecks
In view of the high number of infections, the situation for the epidemiologist Gerald Gartlehner is “a bit worrying” because the experts had expected the numbers to go down significantly further in March. Numerous scientists see the openings from March 5th as too early. “Opening everything up on Saturday is exactly the opposite of what you would do epidemiologically with such a high number of infections,” said the expert in the “Ö1-Morgenjournal”.
There will not be an acute overload in the hospitals, but the high incidence of infection in the population will mean that medical staff will also be absent. In combination with the increasing number of hospitals, this “can lead to supply bottlenecks”. With the exception of the vulnerable area, essential shops and public transport, the applicable mask requirement will be abolished from Saturday. Inside, “it would be important that it stays,” said Gartlehner.
During testing, he advocated differentiation. Diagnostic testing – i.e. for people who feel sick – should be continued. When testing healthy and asymptomatic people, there is an urgent need for a strategy that is limited to high-risk and vulnerable people, said Gartlehner. According to the expert, “too much” would also be tested in schools.
Source: Nachrichten
