Back to the mask? The Health Minister makes a recommendation

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In view of the rising incidence of coronavirus and influenza, Health Minister Johannes Rauch on Wednesday advised people to wear masks again in places where many elderly or sick people come together – for example in hospitals, nursing homes or doctors’ surgeries. This also applies when people are crowded together, for example in crowded pubs. There is no specific mask requirement. This is because hospitals are not overloaded.

In the middle of corona waves
“We are in the middle of a coronavirus wave. The national wastewater monitoring clearly shows this,” said Rauch in a statement. Influenza is also picking up speed. However, hospital data show that there is currently no reason to be concerned about congestion.”

According to the hospital admissions dashboard for respiratory illnesses, ten people are currently in intensive care due to COVID-19 and none due to influenza (47th calendar week, according to preliminary figures). “Putting on a mask protects you and others. This applies to all infectious diseases where there are currently more infections,” said Rauch.

Coronavirus vaccination is also recommended.
The Minister of Health appealed to people to take advantage of the free coronavirus vaccination. It is the best protection against a severe course of the disease. COVID-19 medication would also be sufficiently available. For the first time this year, influenza vaccination will be available at a low cost in all federal states. It is mostly available from general practitioners. Influenza vaccination is especially recommended for people over the age of 60, people with pre-existing conditions, and infants and young children.
Stricter measures in some hospitals
On Tuesday, the Vienna Healthcare Association (WIGEV) announced the introduction of stricter measures in its facilities due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases. As a result, even though COVID-19 is no longer a notifiable disease as of July 1, testing is required in all WIGEV centres for patients with symptoms, no matter how minor. Areas with vulnerable patients in hospitals and nursing homes are particularly protected.