While the federal states are waiting for the ordinance from the Ministry of Health with specific requirements, the federal states are seen as responsible for controlling the limitation of the PCR tests. In the future, most countries will rely on the proven throat tests (partly with the participation of pharmacies), in Styria only on tests in pharmacies.
The PCR regulations are to be rolled out from April 1st, the health department said on Monday. The five free antigen tests that have also been announced can only be picked up in pharmacies from April 9th. The reason for this is the deadline after the Federal Council decision on the antigen tests – the Federal Council will not meet until April 7th.
As with the antigen tests, there should also be no age limit for the PCR tests. The exact specifications for the implementation of the limitation of the PCR tests to five per month and person are regulated in a pending regulation by Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens). This is expected by Thursday midnight at the latest and should come into force on Friday.
Video: From April 1st everything will change in Austria’s test strategy, but the regulation with the necessary details is still missing
Criticism from Vienna
The lack of this regulation was partly criticized by the federal states on Monday, including recently by the office of the Vienna City Councilor for Health Peter Hacker (SPÖ). Talks are currently underway to implement the new PCR test specifications; The aim is to reconcile the PCR tests from “allesgurgelt” and those in pharmacies, according to a spokesman. Officially ordered tests over 1450 and those directly by the doctor remain unaffected by the limitation anyway. The problem sees Vienna especially in the administration of the planned exceptions, which should enable additional free tests when visiting hospitals, old people’s and nursing homes.
Also in Carinthia it was emphasized that there are still open questions regarding the test strategy, and that the federal government is required to address some of them. What is fixed in Carinthia is that the “Everything gurgles” campaign remains in place. Efforts are currently being made to install a second PCR test system – for example for people without a smartphone. According to the state press service, you still need a cost reimbursement waiver from the federal government. As before, the number of tests collected should be checked via e-card (antigen) or mobile phone app (PCR). It has not yet been fully clarified how the exceptions are to be dealt with – it is roughly planned that one has to contact the Tauernklinik – the provider of the throat tests in Carinthia – by e-mail.
Two variants in Upper Austria
In Upper Austria In the future there will be two ways of using your five free PCR tests: either via the “ooe-gurgelt” campaign in cooperation with Spar or in the pharmacies. What is new is that you have to choose one of the two variants at the beginning of the month. In the savings markets, the test kits are still available in packs of ten, so you have to get by for two months.
In order to implement the planned exceptions to the test limit, the health department once again referred to the responsibility of the federal states on Monday: These tests are “billed separately by the federal states” – as are symptomatic tests. “As before, the federal states are responsible for implementing this offer, and there are no federal requirements.”
Countries fear rush to hotline
“Since the federal government only covers the costs for five PCR and five antigen tests per person and month, the costs for all tests going beyond this would have to be borne by the federal state,” it said on the question of how the federal government would limit the five tests wants to control.
Individual federal states are concerned that the 1450 hotline could collapse from April due to a rush. The purpose of the test streets and “everything gurgles” was to relieve the hotline, emphasized the office of the Vienna Health Council. In Vienna, around 700 suspected case clarifications are currently being processed every day over 1450. Overall, there are currently 5,000 to 8,000 positive cases per day in Vienna. If you wanted to find all of these cases over 1450, “tens of thousands of suspected case clarifications” would be necessary via the hotline.
The Ministry of Health does not share these concerns: “The new test strategy does not change the tests for symptomatic people. 1450 has been the first point of contact for symptomatic people in every federal state and will continue to be so.” It was also said from Lower Austria that the system works without any problems in the federal state, and I have no concerns in Vorarlberg either.
“It was a political decision”
Whether a “hamster” of PCR test kits makes sense is currently still open. After a meeting of the Ministry of Health and the federal states last Friday, Carinthia’s health officer Beate Prettner (SPÖ) said that people who still have old PCR gargle tests at home can use a maximum of ten (instead of five) per month. “A solution for tests that you still have at home is still in the final vote,” the health department said on Monday.
Pharmacist Chamber President Ulrike Mursch-Edelmayer emphasized on Monday that it is important for the uninterrupted supply of the entire population that there is still the possibility of being tested in pharmacies. When asked in the Ö1-Mittagsjournal whether it would not have been better to extend the previous unlimited free tests by a month, she said the procedure was “a political decision”.
Procedure in schools still open
It is still unclear how the schools will continue after the Easter holidays. Education Minister Martin Polaschek (ÖVP) has already made it clear that the previous model will remain until the Easter holidays (at least two PCR tests and one antigen test per week). After that, he promised a resizing.
On Monday, the Ministry of Health was quite vague about the goal of reducing the number of tests. Almost two weeks ago, when asked by APA, the aim of the adjustments in the test strategy was “not primarily to save budget funds, but to use them wisely”. On Monday, the new circumstances caused by the current virus variant were used as an argument: “It is now clear that Omikron has brought about a paradigm shift in dealing with the pandemic. This prompts us to rethink previous measures and use them in a more targeted manner,” it said.
the end Salzburg it was said on Monday at APA’s request that the “Salzburg gurgles” model will in all likelihood continue. According to a state spokesman, the final contract negotiations with the partner laboratory Novogenia are still ongoing. The test kits are handed out in savings markets and can also be thrown in there after the test. The online system automatically recognizes if someone submits their sixth test for evaluation in a month.
In the Styria the five free PCR tests will only be available in pharmacies in the future. Work is currently underway on a separate digital platform for the control. According to the plan, this should show the employees in the pharmacies who has already received how many tests. It is not yet entirely clear how people who work in vulnerable areas can receive more than five tests – but it should also work via the platform in the long term. For the time being, however, one should also think about written statements, according to the state of Styria. The official tests are to be carried out over 1450. It is currently difficult to say whether there will be an overload. At the moment everything indicates that the omicron wave is receding.
Even Lower Austria, Tyrol and Vorarlberg continue to rely on the Gurgel solutions. In Lower Austria, the “NÖ gurgelt” system will be continued in cooperation with Spar and McDonalds. Whether the Chamber of Pharmacists will continue their service cannot yet be answered. The control is carried out via the registration when the tests are handed in, which have to be registered online. If someone submits more than five tests a month (e.g. from leftover stocks), there is no evaluation. With regard to the additional free tests (for the exceptions), “a technical solution is being worked on”.
In Tyrol the free PCR tests should be carried out via “Tirol gurgelt”, alternatively also in pharmacies, it said on Monday. The pharmacy option is aimed at people for whom digital processing is a hurdle. The pharmacy staff will support you with the implementation, but the tests would run via the gargle system. The test result can then be picked up again at the pharmacy. The fact that only one test system remains in place can ensure that no more tests are given per person and month than the federal government provides. With regard to the extended test option for the exceptions, reference was made to the federal guidelines that are still outstanding.
the end Vorarlberg it was said that with “Vorarlberg gurgelt” (www.vorarlberg.at/vorarlberggurgelt) there are still a total of 172 acceptance and delivery points for PCR gargling self-tests. Because registration is required on the platform, compliance with the upper limit of five free tests per month is also guaranteed. Here, too, a PCR test variant is being tested via the pharmacies. In terms of free tests for visits to hospitals or nursing homes, the “Vorarlberg gurgelt” platform will create an opportunity, it was assured. The officially ordered PCR tests will continue to be carried out in the test streets.
The country Burgenland announced on Monday that the vaccination and test centers (BITZ) would be closed at the end of March. From April 1st, the five free PCR tests per person per month can be accessed via “Gurgeln at home” or in pharmacies. From April 1st, after registering in the gargle test app (https://test.zmdx.at), everyone in Burgenland will receive five free PCR tests per person per month from the previous collection and distribution points (Spar, pharmacies). For people who do not have a smartphone and no Internet access, there should be an alternative test offer via the Burgenland pharmacies. The drive-in test streets of the Red Cross are again available in Burgenland for suspected cases and free tests. The COVID-19 vaccination is “continued to be secured” and will in future only be possible via the resident doctors in Burgenland.
SPÖ health spokesman Philip Kucher meanwhile criticized the “planlessness of the federal government regarding the destruction of the free test system”: “We are heading for the next health policy catastrophe,” he said in a broadcast. Only one thing is clear: “With its lack of planning, the federal government is endangering the health of Austrians.”
Source: Nachrichten
