Austria announces drastic easing of the corona quarantine. The end of the consistently free corona tests is imminent.
Vienna – How will the Corona * strategy continue in Austria in April? The new Austrian Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) presented his plan in Vienna on Tuesday: the focus was on the quarantine rules and the new corona test strategy.
Austria abolishes quarantine for unvaccinated contact persons – may continue to work
The quarantine rules should be relaxed for the unvaccinated – i.e. neither vaccinated nor recovered. With an FFP2 mask, “contact persons who are not fully protected” will be able to continue to work and also go shopping in the future. Only events and restaurants are still taboo for the unvaccinated. The ten-day quarantine obligation is then largely lifted. Current staff shortages in hospitals and schools are to be avoided.
Austria: Corona tests will remain free for everyone in April, but the number will be limited
The Austrian government has been announcing for some time that something will change with the permanent free corona tests. It was initially unclear what the farewell should look like. Austria* is now continuing the free corona tests, but there are limits: from April 1, five free PCR tests and five free antigen tests per month would be available for every citizen, said Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens).
“Anyone who needs a free test will get it,” said Rauch. According to the Minister of Health, there should be additional tests for people with symptoms and in sensitive settings such as retirement homes. In addition, the pandemic is to be monitored more closely via wastewater monitoring.
In the past pandemic years, almost 300 million tests were carried out in Austria, the ORF reports. These have cost Austria more than three billion euros.
Corona infection numbers in Austria extremely high
When it comes to testing in schools, there is initially no clear line. The incidence in the age group of five to 14 year olds is immensely high*.
In Austria, the 7-day incidence was 3,394.2. Within one day, 37,125 new corona infections were recorded on Tuesday. The numbers have been at a high level for weeks. Nevertheless, Austria has put compulsory vaccination on hold for the time being. In neighboring Germany, the incidence is currently almost 1,600. (ml) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
