Vienna, Nov. 18 (BNA): After the Austrian Health Minister announced the postponement of a decision on the new coronavirus regulations, a panel of experts from his ministry warned that Austria’s current measures to contain the coronavirus are too weak.
The German news agency (dpa) reported that the committee on Wednesday evaluated the ban on unvaccinated people working in the restaurant sector, as well as the booster vaccinations currently being introduced by the government.
“The curbing potential of these measures is currently insufficient to achieve a sustainable reduction in infection in the short term,” the latest weekly forecast said.
Forecasters rated the probability that intensive care units in the western provinces of Upper Austria, Salzburg, Vorarlberg and Tirol would reach full capacity within two weeks at 80 to 97.5 percent.
For days, the conservative Austrian People’s Party led by Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg has been resisting a curfew for all, as proposed by the Green Party’s Health Minister Wolfgang Muekstein. Instead, the chancellor’s party wants to continue relying on measures imposed on unvaccinated as well as booster vaccinations.
Mueckstein’s postponement of the decision to impose more coronavirus restrictions on the Austrian public on Wednesday appears to have been an attempt to avoid an escalation of the row within the country’s divided ruling coalition.
The government also agreed at Wednesday’s meeting to postpone the next round of talks between federal and state leaders on steps to be taken to contain the rising numbers of coronavirus cases in Austria.
Mueckstein’s curfew proposal has drawn heavy criticism from the OeVP, which rejects any further restrictions on vaccinated people despite a sharp rise in infections.
Regional OeVP leaders have been resisting Mueckstein’s proposals since the weekend.
Tirol Governor Gunter Blatter said on Wednesday that there should not be a general curfew simply because the unprotected minority lacked solidarity. “Any incentive to vaccinate will be lost,” he added.
Austria has reinstated a raft of restrictions to combat rising case numbers, straining hospital capacities in some areas.
Since the beginning of the month, employees have had to provide evidence of vaccination, recovery from Covid-19 or a recent negative test in order to go to work.
Since November 8, only vaccinated people who have recovered from Covid-19 have been able to go to bars, restaurants, tourist facilities, sports and events.
And since Monday, unvaccinated people have entered into a lockdown that is only allowed to leave their homes under certain conditions.
The fourth wave of infections in Austria has not slowed, despite the increased demand for vaccination appointments.
MI