Corona quarantine could soon be a thing of the past. Because the Epidemic Act includes a passage that enables the Minister of Health to introduce general traffic restrictions as an alternative. The omicron variant has shown that traffic restrictions can also be an appropriate means to contain the spread of the disease when the disease is predominantly mild, according to the explanation accompanying the change.
Even with future virus variants that have properties similar to Omicron, secretions may be redundant and traffic restrictions alone may suffice. In this case, the planned authorization to issue regulations would allow rapid adaptation to the characteristics of the prevailing virus variant.
In concrete terms, the law states that the Minister of Health can determine by regulation “that persons who are ill, who are suspected of being ill or who have a suspicion of infection, are restricted in their interaction with the outside world”. Of course, this only applies if there is no serious and significant danger to the health of other people, depending on the type of disease.
Public transport ban, mask obligation, etc.
What such traffic restrictions may be is also stated. In particular, the following conditions can be considered: the requirement of proof of only a low epidemiological risk, the obligation to wear mechanical protective equipment covering the mouth and nose area and distance rules. The ban on entering workplaces or using means of transport and participating in meetings is also mentioned.
Kucher: ‘Not pending’
SPÖ health spokesman Philip Kucher is especially annoyed by the approach of the coalition. Even today, the Ministry of Health is again presenting extensive changes to the epidemic law, which were not revised. The changes include far-reaching regulatory powers as well as data protection-relevant provisions: “This government doesn’t care, it’s just being pushed through.”
Liberal health spokesman Gerhard Kaniak suspects bad things. He suspects that the government wants to use the change to implement an indirect vaccination obligation through traffic restrictions.
Source: Krone
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