Austria: quarantine time for schoolchildren shortened
Vienna. After a sharp increase in isolated boys and girls, Austria is loosening its quarantine rules in schools within a very short time. In future, according to a new decree from the Ministry of Health, students will be able to free themselves out of quarantine after five instead of ten days. A negative PCR test should allow the patient to return in the short term.
In addition, with younger students, only those who sit next to them and close contact persons of occasional children should be quarantined. A primary school has already been exempt from quarantine of classmates in the event of an infection. Scientists and doctors were skeptical about the new rules.
Media coverage of 465 isolated classes
According to the daily newspaper “Kurier”, 465 classes were isolated across Austria shortly after school started. There were no specific figures on how many children were affected.
On Wednesday, the authorities reported over 2,600 new corona infections in the country with almost nine million inhabitants. That is the highest value since mid-April. Dies meant a seven-day incidence of 164 casualties for every 100,000 people. 198 people are cared for in the intensive care unit. A total of 825 patients were hospitalized because of an infection with the virus. Seven meetings were also reported. Not quite 60 percent of Austrians are fully immunized through vaccinations.