”Masks are compulsory in public transport or in the supermarket”
Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) in an AUSTRIA interview on Corona, quarantine and traffic restrictions.
AUSTRIA: The horrific case surrounding the death of Dr. Kellermayr crashes many. Could the government have done something better here?
Johannes Rauch: The news of the death of Dr. Kellermayr brings me down to the core. Hatred of people is inexcusable. For me, this is a moment to pause and not look for someone to blame.
AUSTRIA: Back to the current debate about the corona measures: the quarantine will fall in August, why now?
Smoke: Because we have a completely different situation than two years ago: With vaccination and medication, we have two legacy resources available in the fight against the pandemic. The currently dominant variant also leads to significantly easier gradients. In other EU countries, we have already seen that there was no change in hospital occupancy with the end of the quarantine.
Austria: Many experts are alarmed by the quarantine and warn of a lockdown in November. How does your variant management plan work?
Smoke: It maps different scenarios depending on the virus variant. Hopefully the development will be manageable if it stays with the current variant. Of course, what I cannot rule out is that masks will be compulsory in one form or another when more people are indoors in autumn.
AUSTRIA: Where could that be?
Smoke: It is foreseeable in public transport or also in retail, but that will have to be looked at closely.
AUSTRIA: What would you say to risk groups who are afraid of infected people at the next table in the guest garden?
Smoke: They don’t need to, because the reality will be that no one will go to the guest garden, because they shouldn’t be allowed to drop them off to eat. This is a theoretical debate.
AUSTRIA: Should risk groups simply stay at home?
Smoke: no Nobody needs to be afraid. We learned to wear a mask in certain settings. I appeal to reason and common sense.
AUSTRIA: No controls are planned for the traffic restrictions? Does this have anything to do with the principle of legality? Laws have to be enforced, so they have to be checked…
Smoke: Of course. So far we have only been able to check the quarantine on a random basis. And of course, if we became aware of mass non-compliance now, we would also take action.
AUSTRIA: What is happening now in the classes at the start of school?
Smoke: Minister Polaschek will pass on the information to the schools. We will also meet in August and then make precise arrangements for the start of school. The same applies to teaching staff as to nursing staff. This is exactly the same rule.
AUSTRIA: You accuse Vienna of blocking hospital data registrations. What happened?
Smoke: There has been a clear regulation since May to report the data. Vienna is the only federal state to refuse. We have completely eliminated your data protection concerns, I can’t explain it.
AUSTRIA: How do you see autumn yourself?
Smoke: Careful, not afraid. We are not pretending now that one or the other variant cannot occur, but we are prepared and know very well what to do in which case.