Federal Chancellor of Austria: On Wednesday, Karl Nehammer warned that he is now infected with Corona. From the quarantine, the Chancellor calls for a boost.
Vienna – He has already been vaccinated and boosted, but it has caught him now. On Friday (January 7th, 2022) the incumbent Chancellor of Austria, Karl Nehammer, tested positive for the corona virus.
The Federal Chancellery in Vienna announced that the Federal Chancellor did not show any symptoms. The ÖVP politician himself said that he was fine. There would be “no need to worry”, afp quoted the Chancellor as saying.
Corona in Austria: Nehammer was infected by a security officer
The head of government of Austria took his own infection as an opportunity to appeal again to his compatriots. These should be vaccinated and boosted, because that protects “with a high probability of a severe course”.
The infection came through a member of my security team.
The 49-year-old also announced that he was probably infected by one of his security officers on Wednesday evening. The official’s corona test was already positive on Thursday, reports afp.
Nehammer in Corona quarantine: He is now conducting government business from home
Nehammer is currently leading his government business from home quarantine, as dpa writes. The corona test on Friday was negative for his wife and children. For the next few days, all public appointments of the Austrian head of state have been canceled, he will only attend appointments via video and telephone switching, it is said.
On Thursday (January 6th, 2022) Nehammer took part in a press conference and other appointments. However, he wore an FFP2 and at the press conference there was a Plexiglas pane to protect against infection, according to a statement from the afp. Nevertheless, all contact persons were informed, it continues.
Omikron in Austria: Corona situation should be improved through new measures
In Austria, the corona situation has been worsening since the beginning of the year. Only on Wednesday (January 6th, 2022) did Nehammer speak of a “very serious and challenging situation”. On this day, the number of daily new infections with the corona virus exceeded the 10,000 mark, as reported by afp.
Due to the rapidly deteriorating situation, further measures for Austria were decided at a crisis summit on Epiphany. Among other things, an FFP2 mask requirement was enforced outdoors. The head of government Nehammer also did not rule out a further lockdown, for the future, should the situation in the hospitals worsen further, according to afp.
Unlike in Germany, vaccination will be mandatory in Austria from February (2022). Despite technical problems in the implementation and a series of criticism from the population, the Ministry of Health is sticking to the implementation of a mandatory vaccination, reports dpa. Of the nine neighboring countries of Germany, however, Austria is the only one that has not yet been classified as a high-risk area (status: 07.01.022). (Lucas Maier with dpa / afp)
