The current corona wave is gaining momentum. Within a day there were ten percent more hospital patients. A total of 1,863 infected people had to be treated in local hospitals on Tuesday, 166 more than Monday. This is the highest value in six months. 90 seriously ill people were in intensive care. According to AGES, there were 13,416 new infections across Austria within 24 hours.
This is above the average for the past seven days, with 12,285 new cases daily. The seven-day incidence rose to 952.6 cases per 100,000 population. On Tuesday, there were 115,045 laboratory-confirmed active cases in Austria, 7,275 more than the day before. This means that there are currently almost as many people infected with the coronavirus as there are residents in the Lower Austrian district of Amstetten. There have been 5,176,787 confirmed cases in Austria since the start of the pandemic.
The increasing numbers are particularly visible in hospitals. The 1,863 patients are the highest since April 5, when 1,903 infected people had to be treated in hospitals. Within a week, there was a 43.4 percent increase — a total of 564 other positive patients had to be hospitalized. 90 seriously ill people have to be cared for in intensive care, 19 more than on Monday. The last time there were that many was during the summer wave on July 19.
Another death has been added since Monday, 23 people died as a result of corona infection in the past week alone. In total, the pandemic in Austria has claimed 20,767 lives since it broke out. Since the start of the pandemic, 230 infected people have died per 100,000 inhabitants.
Call for the return of the mask requirement
Given the increasing number, virologist Dorothee von Laer of the Medical University of Innsbruck called for an immediate requirement for a mask. The SPÖ spoke of “risk minister Rauch” and criticized that the “turquoise green government has bounced for the third time in the autumn wave”. Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) sees no reason to tighten the corona measures. On the sidelines of a press conference on Tuesday, he confirmed that the mask requirement could be reintroduced if it were necessary. It is currently “hip” to wear the mask indoors for many people, he referred to the current advice.
As for the assessment of the virologist Dorothee von Laer that the government was already too late with the introduction of the mask obligation, the minister pointed out that people are now increasingly returning to the booster vaccinations. In addition, the situation is different now because effective drugs are now available.
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.
