Corona innovations in Salzburg: crisis manager and 2G control at the cash desk
The state of Salzburg pulled over the current corona situation on Monday afternoon. The management is being restructured, the trade is threatened with stricter requirements from January and the vaccination campaign is set to step up a gear again.
- The status of vaccinations in the state
- The current corona numbers
- New information campaign for the country
- Test infrastructure over the holidays
The press conference here to take a look
The joy that the number of infections in Salzburg has recently been much higher than expected was massively clouded on Monday by the rapidly spreading omicron variant of the corona virus. How long will this effect last? Governor Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP) did not want to be determined on Monday whether the next lockdown would be necessary in January or not. He couldn’t rule it out. To this end, he announced a series of measures, above all to be better equipped for the next wave than before. This not only includes trading at the cash desk. Shops for daily needs such as grocery stores are excluded. Haslauer is also installing a central Covid management with a high-ranking military, similar to that of the federal government’s new “GECKO” crisis team.
Peter Schinnerl, from Adnet and Colonel of the General Staff Service, becomes the leading figure. Haslauer emphasizes: “After two years of a pandemic, we are moving from a crisis organization to a line organization. There is now a central contact person internally for the government and all departments in the state as well as for our external partners such as the Red Cross or the Medical Association. He has massive Immediate access to all experts in the departments. He creates the decision-making basis for politics and also coordinates all measures in the country. “
“The virus is a devious enemy”
Schinnerl has been a department head in the operational command of the Air Force Command since 2017 and is now released for the new task. The virus, said Schinnerl, is a devious enemy that has to be countered with a general staff organization. “We have to get away from disaster management by traps and into structured cooperation.”
The governor also reacted to the weak or partly non-existent 2G control of the trade, which goes beyond the customer obligation: “At least at the cash desk 2G must be checked. Those who cannot show a green passport cannot buy anything.” That, said Haslauer, does not, of course, apply to everyday business. It will start on January 3rd or 10th.
Quarantine hotels for tourists
To this end, new staff will be hired who will support the police with the controls in the catering trade for the health authorities. In addition, there will be quarantine hotels for tourists in Tamsweg and Goldegg.
Health officer Christian Stöckl (ÖVP) announced that he would like to target younger age groups in particular with a large advertising campaign over the holidays in order to make further progress with vaccinations. With regard to Omikron, it could be a plus that Salzburg has recently made great progress with third-party vaccinations. According to this, 71.7 percent of all vaccinated people who received the second vaccination at least four months ago received the third sting. According to Stöckl, what is new is that the National Vaccination Committee (NIG) is now recommending a refresher for the age group between twelve and 17 years.
Hoppe: “Hopefully no further lockdown”
Uta Hoppe, corona doctor at the University Hospital Salzburg, said that the third sting would protect 70 percent from infection with the Omicron variant and at least from a severe course. Anyone who has been vaccinated three times will not end up in an intensive care unit. In this context, Hoppe pointed out that men in intensive care units currently have a large number of young people with an average age of 56 years. “All not vaccinated, 40 percent will not see the new year. The virus is smart, it wears a magic hat, but with vaccinations and protective measures we hopefully don’t need another lockdown.”
Christian Stöckl hopes to be able to convince some vaccine skeptics in the coming year with the dead vaccine from Novavax, which was newly approved on Monday. The vaccine will also be available in Salzburg in the first quarter, but Stöckl has not yet given an exact date.
Information campaign of the country
Over the holidays, the state of Salzburg is launching an information campaign on (refreshing) vaccinations. According to information from the country, the vaccination rate of the population is 66.5 percent, the goal is at least 80 to 85 percent. 71.7 percent of the possible booster vaccinations were made (as of December 20, 8:30 a.m.). With immediate effect, the National Vaccination Board (NIG) recommends a refresher for the age group between 12 and 17 years. It can be done from the sixth month after the second dose. However, the rapid spread of the Omikron virus variant could lead to a shortening of the interval to four months in the coming weeks. The number of first vaccinations has increased in the last week compared to the week before from 3820 to 4077.
Vaccination coordinator relies on booster vaccination
With reference to the Omikron virus variant, vaccination coordinator Rainer Pusch recommends booster vaccination in order to be protected against severe disease. “I therefore urgently appeal once again: Please have your protection refreshed after four months, and go to the vaccination even if you have recovered. And of course I appeal once again to everyone who has not yet been vaccinated!”
67.1 percent of 17-year-olds vaccinated twice
The state statistics allow a close look at the vaccination data: In Salzburg, 16,654 of the 12 to 17 year olds have now received the first and second dose. That corresponds to a little more than half of the total of 32,628 young Salzburg people in this age group. “While only 29.9 percent of the 12-year-olds received vaccinations, the percentage has risen sharply in succession and is already 67.1 percent among the 17-year-olds”, Gernot Filipp, head of the state statistics.
However, according to the NIG, the rapid spread of the Omikron virus variant could lead to a shortening of the interval to four months in the coming weeks. “Since the age group has only been vaccinated since the end of May, only just under 400 children and adolescents are currently eligible for the booster. By the end of January, however, there will be over 4,000”, informs Gernot Filipp.
Current key data on corona vaccination (as of December 20)
66.5 percent vaccination coverage (total population)
36,491 corona vaccinations in the last week
4077 first vaccinations in the last week
7864 second fights last week
24,550 third vaccinations in the past week
6242 vaccinations for children (5 to 11 year olds) so far
A total of 963,051 vaccine doses so far
A total of 218,834 booster vaccinations so far
The numbers for the day (as of December 20)
2576 active infections
110 Covid-19 patients in inpatient treatment
26 Covid-19 patients in intensive care
775 previously deceased
7-day incidence State of Salzburg: 205.5
7-day incidence: Flachgau 242.5; Tennengau 234.5; City of Salzburg 204.6; Pongau 164.6; Pinzgau 182.6; Lungau 104.4.
The test infrastructure remains in place during holidays
For Markus Kurcz, Head of the Covid Board, the test infrastructure is still an important part of fighting pandemic. “We know that many infections are symptom-free, but you can infect other people, who may then die harder. You certainly don’t want that with relatives and friends in particular. A test can make a significant contribution here, for example before family get-togethers Visiting your grandparents. The more you do, the more you protect your loved ones. “
According to the Red Cross, more than six million tests have been carried out. Country Leader Sabine Kornberger-Scheuch says: “A huge challenge to manage this and to offer it in optimal quality every day.” Their appeal before the holidays reads: “If possible, do not make double or multiple bookings for the test dates, because this ‘collecting’ of dates gives others the opportunity to come to a test. If you can’t keep an appointment, you can simply go online www.salzburg-testet.at cancel under ‘cancellation’ or by calling 1450. “
Corona test options
At the Red Cross stations, tests are carried out on December 24th until 2 p.m., in the (test) pharmacies usually until 12 p.m. The Red Cross test stations are closed on December 25th and 26th as well as on January 1st, 2nd and 6th.
- Supervised PCR and antigen tests in 14 Red Cross stations, registration at www.salzburg-testet.at and 1450. Count as evidence.
- PCR gargle tests for at home are available nationwide free of charge at the cash registers of the participating Spar supermarkets. On December 24th, the test samples should be handed in an hour earlier – even up to nine o’clock – in order to receive the result as promptly as possible. The results are valid for 72 hours and can be transferred directly to the “Grüner Pass” app. Serve as evidence.
- Supervised PCR and antigen tests in currently 65 Salzburg pharmacies, registration at www.apothekerkammer.at, are valid as evidence.
- Antigen tests before visiting relatives or small family gatherings to be as safe as possible.
You can find all information from the country about Corona, vaccination dates and test options here.