The reason: The effects of the easing on March 5 “are stronger than previously assumed in the forecasts”, informed the office of LH Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP) after the analysis meeting with Popper, which took place every Thursday.
It can be assumed that the seven-day incidence, which was 3,757.9 on Thursday, will continue to rise. The result of this is that the normal wards in the hospitals “have to expect a higher level due to a renewed increase in the incidence,” said the LH office. If Popper was still assuming a peak of 450 patients last week, he now forecast 510 to 680 by the beginning of April. The number of intensive care patients, however, would remain at a low level, on Thursday there were 24 people. The number of normal patients increased by 30 to 465 compared to the previous day.
But not only the higher number of occupied normal beds burdens everyday hospital life, the increased absences of doctors, nurses and other medical staff also lead to a “persistently high burden in the hospitals,” it said after the analysis. The simulation researcher does not expect a noticeable relaxation until the second half of April. After a record of more than 10,000 new cases on Wednesday, 8,811 new infections were reported in the state on Thursday.
Meanwhile, all of Austria remains in the maximum risk zone. The responsible commission unanimously turned the traffic light back to red for all federal states on Thursday, the APA was reported by the committee. All federal states have shown an increasing trend in the number of infections over the past two weeks, which means they are moving further away from the orange zone of the still high risk. The test-loving federal capital is still holding up best.
It’s also getting tight on the normal wards. According to the forecast, 18 percent of the beds in Burgenland will already be occupied specifically for Covid in two weeks. Double-digit percentages are expected everywhere except in the three western federal states and in Upper Austria. An increase in the surface is assumed in all federal states.
This is probably also due to the fact that the number of infections is rising sharply in the group of older people who are particularly at risk, namely by 30 percent among the over-65s. Across all groups, the increase was 28 percent.
In the meantime, critical voices about the easing are increasing. Gerald Gingold, Vice President of the Medical Association and Chairman of the Curia for employed doctors, warns against underestimating the situation and continuing to let the corona virus “run free”.
Source: Nachrichten
