PCR tests continue to cause problems in Salzburg
While the PCR gurgle test system works in Vienna in the fourth corona wave – in the city of 1.9 million people, hundreds of thousands of tests are evaluated every day and delivered within the planned 24-hour period – there are further problems in other federal states. In Upper Austria, Lower Austria and Salzburg, the system has been restricted for two days; a new test can only be carried out every 48 hours due to bottlenecks.
The test kits in some pharmacies in Salzburg recently ran out. A crisis summit was convened with the provider in Carinthia because the evaluations were taking too long. The country announced that improvement is in sight “by the middle of this week”. The test kits are “largely available” in Spar branches and pharmacies. Tyrol will set up a comprehensive PCR-Gurgel-System. However, according to the “Tiroler Tageszeitung”, the second provider has already canceled due to a lack of capacity.
Bottlenecks in PCR testing
The fact that a new test can only be done every 48 hours makes complete results difficult or impossible for work, which is important for commuters to Vienna insofar as tests are only valid for 48 hours, reported the “Ö1 Morgenjournal”. Test evaluations take “30 hours or longer” in the federal states concerned, according to the Lower Austrian Chamber of Labor. As a stopgap measure, companies can use antigen tests that are less informative. This sometimes leads to chaos and queues of people in the test streets and in front of pharmacies, and in pharmacies, PCR and antigen tests are sometimes carried out in parallel.
The “Austria tests” portal “practically collapsed” on Tuesday, Ö1 quoted a representative of the Styrian Chamber of Pharmacists. In front of the pharmacies, crowds of people could have formed, there had been expressions of displeasure (“Some of the people were already a bit scared”).
(Source: APA)
