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Salzburg is once again a coronavirus high-risk zone. The traffic light commission switched the province to red on Thursday. The west with Vorarlberg and Tyrol and the east with Vienna and Burgenland were classified yellow with medium risk. The rest of the country is at high risk, which is shown as orange.
Salzburg has the highest current risk number, which decides the classification, with 103.1. This means that Salzburg slipped just into the sector of very high risk. A request from the state for Orange remained in the minority. Upper Austria is only slightly better off at 97.3, while Burgenland currently has the best score at 38.1. Lower Austria moves from medium to high risk this week. Vorarlberg, Tyrol and Vienna improve in the other direction.
Salzburg also had the worst values for raw and risk-adjusted case rates, which cover additional risks, last week. The lowest incidences were in Vorarlberg. Besides the Ländle, only Vienna showed a decreasing 14-day trend. The trend went up in Burgenland, Styria, Upper Austria and Salzburg – read more at salzburg.ORF.at.
Highest number of cases in Hallein
The highest number of cases recently occurred in Hallein followed by Braunau and Scheibbs. All three districts had repeatedly been conspicuous in the coronavirus pandemic. In terms of risk-adjusted incidence, Tamsweg in Lungau is the lonely frontrunner with 720. In the test region of Vorarlberg, where school now runs without testing, all districts are below the incidence of 100 in both assessments.
As far as the exposure of intensive care units is concerned, Vienna is burdened with the highest value both currently and in the forecast. At exactly zero, the number of coronavirus intensive care patients in Burgenland was last. Less encouraging is the trend of new infections among the older generation, which is particularly at risk. An increase of 20.3 percent was noticed among those over 65 years of age throughout Austria.
Overall, Covid-19-specific ICU utilization was 10.4 percent based on all reported adult ICU beds in Austria. Forecast calculations show an increase in ICU utilization to a level of 11.8 percent by Oct. 27. Thus, the system risk remains at “medium risk.”
61 percent fully immunized
Based on the total population, the percentage of fully immunized was 61.47 percent as of Wednesday, according to the Traffic Light Commission. The vaccination coverage rate has reached a level of around 73.3 percent of the vaccine-eligible population (aged 12 and older) and is around 88.8 percent (received at least one dose) in the over-65 group. This means that Austria is still below average in terms of vaccination coverage compared with other Western European countries.
Lack of vaccination progress must therefore be “compensated for with more stringent and timely protective measures in order to be able to bring about a sustainable decrease in the number of cases,” according to the Traffic Light Commission, which therefore recommends accepting the low-threshold vaccination offer in order to achieve the highest possible vaccination coverage rate. Direct, personalized letters regarding vaccination were explicitly welcomed by the traffic light commission.
The head of the Center for Virology at MedUni Vienna attributed the low vaccination coverage rate to a likely misperception of the disease. “Many people may underestimate it,” the virologist said Thursday evening on ZIB2. She recommended a third vaccination within a year of the second sting, depending on age, and referred to the guidelines of the national vaccination panel.
Current phase remains unstable
The traffic light commission also pointed out the necessity of follow-up vaccinations on Thursday. With regard to the observed different vaccine efficacy of different manufacturers, this applies in particular to the prompt second vaccination in persons vaccinated with Janssen vaccine (Johnson&Johnson).
The traffic light committee continued to rate the current phase as unstable. For example, in October/November 2020, the doubling time increased from about 20 days in mid-October to about seven days in late October. Therefore, as case numbers continue to increase, the Traffic Light Commission recommended the gradual reintroduction of preventive measures from previous regulations.
Roadmap for third stings in Vienna
Not much news on testing activity. The Viennese tested by far the most last week, the Tyroleans the least, as has become customary. The fact that the federal capital registered the comparatively highest number of asymptomatic cases (48 percent) is hardly surprising in view of the diligent testing. The national average is 33 percent. Vienna also boasts the second-best figure behind Burgenland for cleared cases.
Booster vaccinations have been underway in Vienna since the beginning of September. So far, 22,044 people have received a third Covid 19 vaccination. Started in retirement and nursing homes and among hospital staff.
sources:
ORF.at/agencies, Coronavirus traffic light
Recommendations of the traffic light commission over time
Ministry of Health#
Picture: https://corona-ampel.gv.at/ampelfarben/
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