[ad_1]
HERBERT NEUBAUER
The crown mass tests in Austria were received with great interest. As of early Friday, there were the longest queues in front of the Vienna and Innsbruck test stations, according to reporters from ORF and broadcaster Oe24. In the Austrian capital, citizens can take tests in three locations until 13 December. The capacity in Vienna is up to 150,000 tests per day. The government hopes that several million Austrians will be examined in the coming weeks. The goal is also to discover infected people without symptoms to break the chains of infection.
Due to the nearly three-week lockdown, which will be lifted again next Monday – at least for trade, the high number of infections in Austria has recently dropped significantly. However, the government made up of the conservative ÖVP and the Greens is taking a more cautious route. This also includes travel restrictions for Christmas and New Year. Anyone entering from a risk area, including Switzerland, must be in quarantine for ten days. This can be terminated no earlier than the fifth day with a negative PCR test.
Austria is based on Slovakia
In the case of mass testing, Austria also draws on the experiences of neighboring Slovakia. Slovakia carried out mass crown tests across the country on the weekend of All Saints’ Day (October 31 and November 1). Participation was formally voluntary, but those who did not have a negative test were not even allowed to go to work for two weeks. Thus, in the first of several rounds of testing alone, 3.6 million of the 5.5 million inhabitants underwent a rapid antigen test.
Considering the cost of the millions of tests in Slovakia, there was no longer the ability to follow the contacts of those who tested positive. Also, despite the knowledge that rapid antigen tests were less reliable, there were no control tests if anyone tested positive.
Meanwhile, Slovakia is gradually moving away from its nationwide crown mass testing strategy. The nationwide crown mass tests scheduled again for the first weekend in December have been postponed indefinitely.
Mass tests also in South Tyrol
Another example of mass testing is the northern Italian region of South Tyrol. After a mass test of the crown that lasted several days, a positive balance was drawn in the second half of November. In the small Alpine province, more than 350,000 citizens took a free smear test. There were queues at the rapid antigen test stations. The goal, which is important for success, was achieved with precision, despite being voluntary. Eventually, 3,600 participants (about 1%) received a positive crown result. You have been ordered to quarantine. (SDA)
Source link
