Wastewater data points to the highest corona wave since the start of the pandemic – but according to Health Minister Johannes Rauch, there will be no more government measures such as the obligation to wear a mask. In the interview he explained that the pathogen can now be expected – just like the flu – every season. In tackling Corona and its consequences for health, the government relies on research and further development of treatment options.
There will be no more general measures or regulations from the federal government – “as of today” – he reiterated. “I can understand the desire of everyone who is tired of Covid,” the minister emphasized in the interview. “I have always said that the pandemic will disappear, change or diminish – but the virus will remain. So it will simply be there every season, just like the flu.” And of course, in certain situations it makes sense to wear a face mask, for example.
Measures only if the healthcare system is overloaded
However, restrictions on civil liberties, as in the past, are only justified if there is a risk of overloading the healthcare system. There are good instruments – such as wastewater monitoring and the SARI dashboard: ‘We know what is happening in the hospitals.’ Austria is far from being overburdened by its healthcare system – with around 1,200 COVID-19 patients currently, according to Rauch. the hospitals, even now in what is by far the largest wave of infections yet. Naturally, it is up to each healthcare institution to implement measures such as a mask requirement in the context of the house rules – as is currently the case in some cases.
Long-term consequences after Covid in up to 40% of cases
Regarding the possible long-term consequences of a Covid infection, the minister referred to the measures taken and expects further research results. The steps recommended by the Supreme Medical Council will all be implemented, Rauch said of the planned reference center for post-viral diseases (such as Long/Post Covid or ME/CFS). “As far as the long-term effects are concerned, the research is still open. The numbers of people affected by Long Covid vary from five percent to forty percent, although I think five percent is too low and forty percent is too high, but that is my opinion.’ We have to wait and see where the scientific findings will turn out. proof ends.
In private practice we are prepared to treat Long Covid or Post-Covid or ME/CFS patients. He was referring to a tool developed for the medical profession that allows you to “view symptoms online, so to speak.” And there is also talk of ‘further training’ at conferences – claims that nothing is happening are therefore incorrect.
Rauch: A large vaccination campaign would make no sense
To counter the low willingness of Austrians to be vaccinated – especially for Covid, but also for flu – Rauch wants to focus mainly on ‘raising awareness’. There is a need for a “fight against hostility towards science” in the country. “I can see that, because some people believe that the earth is flat and vaccinations are pointless,” he said – also with a view to the FPÖ. “You have to clean up the nonsense, you have to stand up to it and that’s what we do.” There will not be a major vaccination campaign: ‘That is simply due to experience that major campaigns do not really yield anything. difference.”
Rauch is also pleased with the health care reform passed by the National Council in December. “I would call it a huge achievement,” he said. His aim was to improve the situation for patients and create a “uniform catalog of services from Lake Constance to Lake Neusiedler”. The minister is aware that not all measures have an immediate effect: “Now it is a matter of implementation.”
The reform will have its full effect in one to three years, “when the expansion has actually taken place in the private sector and the hospitals have subsequently been repaid”. The “good news” is: “We have already opened more than 50 primary care facilities, five of which are pediatric PVEs. We have thirty in the pipeline.”
Rauch warns of a shift to the right in Europe
Rauch is critical of international and national developments in the field of voting behavior and the rise of right-wing parties. Once again, Rauch described the EU elections that took place in June as “the most important elections of my political life”. He is not prepared to accept without a fight that “the entire political situation shifts from the right to the extreme right and instead of one Orban or one Kaczynski we get many small Orbans or Kaczynskis – then we will not recognize this Europe.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
