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Austria: New Covid-19 stats that give us reason to be positive

More than three weeks into Austria’s coronavirus shutdown - and a week since the measures were tightened - there are some tentative yet positive signs for the direction of the pandemic in Austria.

Published: 23 November 2020 16:24 CET
Updated: 29 November 2020 11:29 CET
Austria: New Covid-19 stats that give us reason to be positive
A cheesemaker at the deserted Naschmarkt market in Vienna, Austria. Photo: JOE KLAMAR / AFP

Lowest case numbers since late October

On Monday morning, Austria registered the lowest number of daily infections in almost a month, reports Der Standard. A total of 3,145 new confirmed infections were reported on Monday morning, the lowest single day figures since October 27th. 

While it might not be a major win – more than 3,000 infections is still significant, while 71 deaths were also recorded across the country on Monday – but it is some indication that the measures to curb the spread are working. 

Anschober welcomed the news cautiously, saying the measures were “slowly starting to have an effect”, although he warned that figures were always lower on a Monday due to the way reporting is done over the weekend. 

He appealed to the population to “avoid any contact which is not required”.

'Lockdown must not be extended': Austria earmarks date to wind back measures 

 

First time intensive care occupancy has decreased since late October

Sunday, November 22nd, marked the first time since late October that the number of patients in intensive care in Austria decreased. 

As can be seen in the following chart, intensive care bed occupancy has risen every day since October 25th. 

 

 

Herwig Ostermann, Managing Director of Health Austria (GÖG), said on Monday that the signs in the intensive care rooms were “quite positive”. 

1.02

That's Austria's reproduction rate – or R-Rate – as at November 18th, 2020. 

If the rate is above 1, it means that each person who is infected with the virus infects another person on average. 

As high as 1.46 on the 31st of October, the declining figure gives hope that the measures are working. 

Austria has set a goal of 0.8 to consider reopening many of the parts of the economy hit by the lockdown. 

One third

33 percent. That’s how much of Austria’s strict lockdown has passed so far, with officials hoping to end the lockdown on December 7th. 

Austrian health authorities have flagged December 7th as a possible end date for the ongoing coronavirus lockdown, provided infection rates continue to fall. 

In a press conference on Monday, November 23rd, Austrian Health Minister Rudolf Anschober indicated that lockdown measures would be relaxed gradually, with schools likely to return to normal. 

READ: How Austria plans to emerge from the coronavirus lockdown =

24 million

That’s the number of doses of coronavirus vaccine Austria will receive from the European Union. 

Each person will need to be vaccinated twice, with people to receive both doses within a 14-day period. 

READ: When will the coronavirus vaccine be available in Austria?

The first vaccinations are expected to start in the last week of December or the first week of January. 

Austrian Health Minister Rudolf Anschober said people in risk groups would be vaccinated first, followed by health workers. 

“It is clear that the main risk groups have priority. In a second step, the employees of the health system should then be able to be vaccinated,” said Anschober in an interview with Kurier on Saturday.

The vaccination strategy and logistics are “de facto finished”.

On Monday, Anschober told Der Standard he expected hundreds of thousands of vaccinations to be carried out in January “unless something unbelievable goes wrong”. 

Seven million

That’s the number of coronavirus tests ordered by the Austrian government as part of its ‘mass testing’ plan, which will kick off on December 5th. 

EXPLAINED: How Austria's mass-testing plan will work 

The scheme kicks off in two phases. 

Saturday, December 5th and Sunday, December 6th, all state and federal teachers and kindergarten supervisors will be tested. 

On December 7th and 8th, 40,000 police officers will be tested across the country. 

Testing: These pharmacies offer rapid antigen tests 

According to Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung, “a broad series of tests is planned for the entire population before Christmas”. 

Participation in the scheme is voluntary. 

The testing will take place at around 100 testing stations which will be set up across the country. 

The tests for teachers will be carried out by the Austrian Education Ministry through each state department, while the police testing will be conducted by each state’s police department. 

Medical staff will be trained by Austrian health authorities and the Austrian military. 

 

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HEALTH

Patients in Vienna face long waits for specialist health appointments

Waiting times to get appointments with health specialists in Vienna have increased significantly, a new study has revealed.

Published: 17 May 2024 09:56 CEST
Patients in Vienna face long waits for specialist health appointments

Accessing essential healthcare within a reasonable timeframe is becoming increasingly difficult for Viennese residents.

The Vienna Medical Association presented their new study this week which shows that waiting times for appointments with health specialists have increased significantly in recent years.

The study, which involved contacting over 850 doctors’ practices via so-called “mystery calls,” revealed that child and adolescent psychiatry currently had the longest waiting times in the city.

Patients can expect to wait an average of 90 days for an appointment.

Other specialisations where patients have to wait long to receive help include radiology (57 days), neurology (45 days), ophthalmology (44 days), pulmonology (36 days), internal medicine (33 days), and dermatology (28 days).

The waiting time for seeing a gynaecologist has increased fourfold since 2012, with patients now waiting an average of 32 days.

READ MORE: Why are there fewer public sector doctors in Austria?

No new patients accepted

In certain specialist areas, there is no capacity to accommodate new patients. The situation where no new patients are accepted occurs particularly often in paediatric practices, where more than half of the public healthcare practices have put a freeze on admissions.

In child and adolescent psychiatry, 40 percent do not accept new patients, and among gynaecologists, it is almost a third (30 percent). Family doctors also struggle with welcoming new patients, and many of their practices have already reached full capacity.

The Medical Association calls for immediate action, urging the health insurance sector to become more attractive and receive better funding. This could involve measures to incentivise doctors to work within the public system, potentially reducing wait times and improving patient access to care.

During the study presentation, Johannes Steinhart, president of the association, described the increased waiting times as the result of neglect within the established health insurance sector. He said he believes that the public health system is massively endangered.

Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied, chairwoman of the Curia of the resident doctors in the association, pointed out that while the population of the federal capital has grown by 16 percent since 2012, the number of public doctors has fallen by 12 percent in the same period.

The association now wants to make the public healthcare system more attractive to doctors, which could cut down waiting times and make it easier for patients to receive care. The association’s demands for this to happen include increasing flexibility in contract options, integrating health and social professions in individual practices, reducing bureaucracy, and improving fees.

ÖGK, Österreichische Gesundheitskasse, Austria’s largest public healthcare fund, is currently creating 100 additional public health positions, with almost two-thirds of the positions already having applicants, as well as planning for another 100 positions. They also aim to create a central telemedicine service and a platform for making appointments by phone and online, which is meant to reduce waiting times and improve access to care.

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