155 new infections again: Will measures be tightened?

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Vienna, 13.08.2020 – 155 new infections with the coronavirus within 24 hours in Austria (as of 9.30 a.m.) were reported by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Health on Thursday. There was a slight decrease in the number of persons treated in hospital as well as in the number of intensive care patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection: 114, of which 22 intensive care cases after 118 with 25 intensive care cases on Wednesday.

However, the number of deaths related to Covid-19 increased by one person and is now 725. 20,346 people have recovered to date. In total there have been 22,594 positive test results since the outbreak of the pandemic in Austria. About 1,500 active cases are therefore officially known, about half of them in Vienna – experts expect a higher number of unreported cases in any case.

The new infections are distributed among the provinces as follows:
Burgenland: 3
Carinthia: 7
Lower Austria: 22
Upper Austria: 23
Salzburg: 13
Styria: 15
Tyrol: 27
Vorarlberg: 4
Vienna: 41

Will measures be tightened?
Health Minister Rudolf Anschober is calling a press conference on Friday at 10 a.m. because of the rising corona numbers. “Both in Europe and worldwide, corona infections continue to rise or are rising again. An ebbing of the pandemic is currently not in sight. In a corona update, Health Minister Rudolf Anschober will inform about the current situation, conclusions and recommendations for action. In addition, new findings on the course of the disease and possible long-term consequences are presented. Pneumologist Dr. Ralf Harun Zwick reports on challenges and treatment methods in the rehabilitation of Covid patients, including young ones,” writes the Ministry of Health in a press release.

New Covid-19 law under review
The Ministry of Social Affairs has sent the amendment to the Covid 19 Measures Act announced after the decisions of the Constitutional Court to be reviewed. The regulations governing bans on entry will be changed. In addition, the penalties will be reduced and differentiated, and the legal basis for contact tracing and the traffic light system will be created. However, the expiry date remains unchanged at 31 December.

The evaluation period is very short, with only two weeks until 28 August to raise any objections to the amendment of the Covid-19 Act, the Epidemic and Tuberculosis Act. Time is of course pressing, but according to Health Minister Rudolf Anschober, the traffic light system – with regionally varying measures depending on corona exposure – is to be put into trial operation as early as mid-August, with regular operation starting in September.