The record values take turns daily: if on Thursday the just reported 8593 new infections with the coronavirus were still considered the highest level of the year so far, the record was broken 24 hours later with 9388 new cases. 1831 people infected with Covid-19 are currently in hospital, 356 of them in intensive care units. The trend is rising: according to current forecasts, the threshold of 400 occupied intensive care beds is likely to be exceeded at the beginning of next week, and 500 shortly thereafter. In order to counteract this, the federal government called the state governors to a “corona summit” in Vienna on Friday – the result: a bundle of tightening measures.
Where “3G” previously applied, “2G” will come into effect across Austria from Monday (November 8). This means that service providers close to the body, such as hairdressers and the catering trade, will then only be open to vaccinated persons and those who have recovered from a Covid 19 disease. The same applies to the hotel industry, hospitals and in nursing homes, as well as in the cultural and sports sectors (such as at ski lifts). In other words, stages two, three and four of the “Corona Stage Plan” will come into force simultaneously. However: there is a transition period of four weeks: Anyone who has already received the first vaccination against the virus and can also show a negative PCR test is also considered “2G”.
The vaccine will also be reintroduced at events: For gatherings with more than 25 people, “2G” applies, and for more than 50 participants, a duty to notify the district administrative authority is introduced. This means that a Covid 19 officer must be named and a prevention concept drawn up up to one week before the event. From Monday, events with more than 250 participants will require a permit from the relevant district administrative authority.
– A general obligation to wear FFP2 masks in all retail outlets, museums and libraries will be introduced.
– The range of PCR tests will be expanded across the board in order to replace antigen tests entirely as soon as possible.
– Antibody tests will no longer be recognized as “G” detection.
– The “Green Passport” is valid for nine months after the second vaccination, after which it requires a “third sting” to be valid. Because, only with three vaccination doses one is really protected, Schallenberg emphasized. A transition period of three weeks is granted. Those who have been immunized with the vaccine from “Johnson & Johnson” will need a second dose from January 3, 2022, to have a valid proof.
– The measures are to be increasingly controlled. No longer be controlled respectively completely omitted exit controls.
“The situation in Austria is serious – as it is in a whole series of other European countries. The dynamics are extraordinary and the occupancies in intensive care beds are rising much faster than expected,” Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) said Friday evening, explaining the new regulations. “Therefore, we will accelerate the phased plan and bring forward measures.” More pointedly, “No one wants a split in the population, but we need to tighten the reins on the unvaccinated.” Because, “It’s simply our responsibility to protect the people in our country.”
Schallenberg emphasized that they want to live up to this responsibility – also in view of the approaching Christmas and the winter season, “which is so important for us as a tourist destination,” the chancellor said, drawing a comparison: if you get into a car, you put on a seat belt – “vaccination is our seat belt.”
— source. diepresse.at/picture:pixabay.com
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