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To make the pandemic controllable again, the Austrians would have to stay at home. The conditions in the hospitals are dramatic.
Since more delicate measures have not been fruitful, the Austrian government can only help itself with severity. In the photo Sebastian Kurz (right) and his deputy chancellor Werner Kogler.
The Austrian government is again using the mace to fight the crown pandemic. As Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and other members of the government said Saturday afternoon, a “tough” blockade will be enforced on Tuesday. The country should mostly stop. All shops and service providers that do not meet basic needs must close. In addition, there is a full-day curfew: citizens can leave the house only for important errands, for the care of relatives and professional commitments, as well as for physical and mental relaxation.
Ineffective measures
“Each contact is one too many,” said Kurz dramatically. “Don’t meet anyone.” Reducing social life is the only way to keep the pandemic in check, even if it angers many people.
In terms of new infections per capita, Austria occupies an absolute top position worldwide. These are increasing uncontrollably, even though the Vienna government had already drastically reduced public life by the end of October. At that time it closed restaurants, bars, sports facilities and cultural institutions and imposed a large curfew from 8pm to 6am. However, the number of daily infections has doubled since then to just under 10,000.
The reasons for the explosion are only partially clear. It can be seen, for example, that mobility has decreased significantly less than in spring and that most people in the home are infected. But contact tracers admit that this rather vague category also hides other sources of infection that simply could not be determined. Case traceability, which has long been done very professionally in Austria, is currently tumbling below the number: only 23% can be assigned to a cluster.
The schools are closed
Achieving a coherent and science-based policy under these circumstances is proving difficult. For months, the opposition has criticized, often rightly, the lack of transparency and the lack of data on which government decisions are based. However, experts often disagree on key issues. This can also be seen in the controversy over the complete closure of schools, announced on Saturday.
According to reports, it was applied by Chancellor Kurz – against the resistance not only of the junior green partner, but also of the representatives of his Conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) in the federal states. There is controversy among scientists in Austria about the strength with which children and adolescents act as infection factors. Studies arrive at different results.
Compensation and help to the economy
imr. Austria had already been partially blocked since 3 November. The shops could still do their business, but museums, theaters, cinemas and restaurants were closed. Because the government banned these companies from doing business, it was relatively generous financially:
He wants to compensate them for up to 80% of lost sales. The basis for the comparison is the November 2019 sales. In “forced closure”, “body-hugging service providers” such as hairdressers or beauticians are compensated equally.
According to Finance Minister Gernot Blümel, a differentiated solution is planned for the retail trade. Depending on the division, stores receive turnover compensation of 20, 40 or 60 percent. Suppliers of perishable goods are entitled to a 60% replacement. This includes, for example, the flower trade.
It is not yet clear how the fixed cost subsidy II developed by Blümel will continue. Companies can request the payment of bills for gas, rent or electricity.
However, the EU Commission has not yet approved this aid measure. He sees it as an aid. As a result, companies can apply for grants of up to € 800,000 starting November 23.
At the press conference, Kurz made it known that schools should not be considered sources of infections because it is often not clear where they took place. Many parents also complain that schools have reacted chaotically to the Corona cases. On Thursday, experts from the government’s Corona traffic light commission spoke out against the closure of schools for children under 14.
Social and economic considerations also mingle with resistance, which many companies also support. Going to work becomes much more difficult for parents. Socially disadvantaged people who have little financial and professional room for maneuver are particularly affected. For this reason, kindergartens and schools should remain open to those in need. However, in the spring, many parents encountered passive resistance and moral pressure from schools when they asked for this claim.
Hospitals on the edge
Hospitals fear that their staffing situation will be aggravated by school closures. Doctors report dramatic conditions at Covid stations, which can barely cope with the onslaught. More than 3900 corona patients were in hospital on Friday, 567 of them in intensive care units. In the federal state of Carinthia, for example, more than 80% of the beds are occupied. According to health experts, triage – the selection of patients who can still be treated – is imminent if infections are not reduced.
Most infections are mild. But the numbers are so high that even the estimated one percent requiring intensive medical care is a heavier burden. For the first time, the pandemic in Austria led to excess mortality at the end of October: deaths were a quarter above the long-term average. One third of the 1,510 crown deaths so far have died in the past two weeks.
However, it is unclear whether the new bloc will follow as disciplined as the one in the spring. A recent Gallup poll shows a contradictory picture: Over 80% believe the pandemic is out of control, but nearly 40% also believe the danger it poses is exaggerated. Less than half of them want to be vaccinated.
All of this points to considerable skepticism of government policy, of which the government itself is not entirely innocent. In late summer, Kurz prematurely announced that he had seen “the light at the end of the tunnel,” and discussions within the coalition contributed to the uncertainty. The impression given by the ÖVP at the start of the second wave that it was mainly large cities that had a problem contributed to a certain nonchalance in rural regions, which are now also heavily affected.
Wohlfeile Critic
However, the government’s criticisms are also a bit cheap: practically all European states fail due to the conflict of objectives of keeping infections low, taking economic interests into account and still pursuing a coherent policy. In Austria, which is also currently struggling with the aftermath of a terrorist attack, it is no different. How paradoxical the reactions of the Austrian population are, emerged Saturday, when people queued in front of numerous shops to quickly stock up on discounted items before the lockdown.
On Saturday evening, Vienna’s shopping streets are filled with bargain hunters.
Probably not only in Vienna does the observer get the impression that, besides conspiracy theorists, many basically reasonable people have decided to ignore the pandemic, simply because they are fed up with it. This also means that official information and instructions reach fewer and fewer people. This is a conflict-prone starting point for the block that is starting. This is not the only reason the government is trying to limit this period to three weeks. Whether it will be successful remains to be seen.
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