The schools remain officially open, but some distance learning will be used and parents will be asked to leave children at home. But there will be support for those who need it, LH Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP) presented details on Thursday evening.
A decision should be made by December 17 at the latest whether the lockdown must continue, whether there will be relief for those who have been vaccinated, or whether the lockdown can be ended. Until then, “de facto a curfew” applies with the known exceptions: You can only go out to buy everyday goods, to go to work or to relax physically and mentally. There should be help for the economy, details will be presented on Friday.
Video: ZIB Special with Governor Stelzer
The main committee of the National Council will meet on Saturday evening to adopt an ordinance from Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) for the lockdown in Upper Austria and Salzburg, Stelzer explained the formalities. “It’s another massive limitation, but we see it as the only way.” The number of new infections has risen “rapidly”. They tried “to increase the level of protection step by step”, but it was not enough. The effect of the measures is apparently too little, the situation in the hospitals is becoming more and more tense. “They are at their limit and some are probably even above it.”
Also LHStv. Christine Haberlander (ÖVP) underlined the situation in the hospitals. The forecasts assume that the mark of 170 to 200 intensive care patients will be reached. The schools and children’s educational institutions remain officially open and those who need it will also receive care and instruction, explained Haberlander. However, some classes go to distance learning and parents are asked to leave the children at home if possible. In the education minister’s regulation, this compromise is described as “keeping it open as appropriate to the circumstances,” she said. It is compulsory to wear a mask at all school levels. Universities and technical colleges go into distance learning.
Video: Analysis of the press conference
Lung Primary Bernd Lamprecht from the Kepler University Hospital in Linz is “very grateful” for the decision, because it gives the employees in the health system the perspective that the situation can be mastered even if there is no immediate relief: “We can calculate that we will have to reckon with a significant increase in exposure over the next few days and weeks. ” People who decide to vaccinate today will enjoy very reliable protection as early as Christmas, he said. Those who choose to have their third vaccination today, in a week. That helps a lot, but not immediately. Therefore, contact reduction is also very important from a medical point of view, said Lamprecht.
The Mayor of Linz and oö. City Council President Klaus Luger (SPÖ) emphasized that the infection process is increasingly affecting children who are too young to be vaccinated. He also sees the lockdown as a “pause for reflection for those who, for sometimes obscure reasons,” refuse to take the measures. You will need a vaccination rate of 80 percent. “Maybe with discipline and solidarity we will succeed in at least one Christmas without a lockdown.”
Video: The questions from the media
The oö. Community federation president Johann Hingsamer warned of a split in society. Municipalities and cities would support the measures. In the past few days in particular, requests such as “act faster” have been made to the communities. The less willing society is to cooperate, the longer it will take, he appealed for people to adhere to the guidelines. In the end, some might have misinterpreted the word freedom.
In Upper Austria, 3,518 new infections and twelve deaths were reported on Thursday. 537 patients were in normal wards, 106 in intensive care units.
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Source From: Nachrichten
