Salzburg introduces control obligations in the retail sector in January
On Monday, Salzburg’s governor Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP) reviewed the last few weeks since the start of the fourth lockdown and gave an outlook on the future. From January, for example, a valid Green Passport should be a requirement in retail.
“We have now been able to reduce the number of infections by 89 percent in four and a half weeks. That is the strongest decline of all federal states,” says Haslauer at the beginning of the press conference. The downside is the occupancy of the intensive care beds. There are still 26 Covid 19 patients there. The average age is 56.
This is also the reason for the slow decline, said Haslauer. Because younger patients are in intensive care much longer than older ones. The majority is also unvaccinated. “40 percent of the patients who are currently in intensive care will no longer survive the next year,” adds Uta Hoppe from the Salzburg University Hospital.
Boosters
It is therefore all the more important – also in the approaching omicron variant – to further advance the vaccination and, above all, to boost it. “We are catching up here,” said Haslauer. “With first vaccinations we reach almost one percent of the population per week.”
In order to have a better overview of the situation in the future, the state is installing a corona coordinator. Colonel Peter Schinnerl is to take over the central leadership of this topic in the future.
Fear of staff shortages
It is particularly important for Haslauer to “remain operationally functional”. He fears that Omikron will cause high staff losses in systemically relevant professions. One therefore wants to prevent as much as possible and improve, among other things, in contact tracing and PCR testing. He cannot rule out another lockdown.
What is fixed, however, is the introduction of a control obligation in retail, Haslauer. Only the exact date is still uncertain. It will either apply from January 3rd or 10th, according to the governor.
At clothing stores and the like, you have to be able to show a valid green passport at least at the cash desk. For everyday goods – such as in grocery stores or pharmacies – this regulation should “of course” not apply.