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CHILDREN

‘Ninja tests’: What are Austria’s coronavirus sticker book tests for children?

Austria has rolled out a 'playful' sticker book to encourage children to get tested. Here's what you need to know.

Published: 12 May 2021 17:53 CEST
Updated: 14 May 2021 11:26 CEST
School children are regularly tested for COVID-19 at school in Austria (Photo by Philippe LOPEZ / AFP)
School children are regularly tested for COVID-19 at school in Austria (Photo by Philippe LOPEZ / AFP)

Austria is due to open up on May 19th with a “green pass” which will require people to show proof they have tested negative for Covid 19, recovered from an infection or been vaccinated to gain access to restaurants and events.

For children, there is a similar plan – but one which is a little more fun.

Paper, plastic or digital: How will Austria’s coronavirus immunity card work?

Known as the ‘Covid Ninja’ sticker book, it lets kids do certain things provided they have been tested. 

Here’s what you need to know. 

What is the Covid Ninja sticker book?

Children in Austria are already tested for the coronavirus three times a week at school before starting lessons.

Now they will be able to show they have been tested and gain access to restaurants, cafes, sports facilities and events with a special Covid Ninja sticker book, which will leave a space every week for three negative test “stars”. 

The stickers will remain valid for 48 hours, meaning after children have tested negative for the coronavirus at school they will not have  to test again within this period. 

A pilot project will also be rolled out in Vienna involving more sensitive PCR testing for school children rather than antigen testing.

If successful, PCR testing in schools will be done throughout Austria. In the interim, more sensitive antigen tests will be used. 

“We’re making it easy, almost playful (for kids to get tested)” said Education Minister Heinz Faßmann at a press conference on Wednesday. 

The scheme, which Austrian media are comparing to Panini collector stickers, uses a small sheet of paper decorated with a cartoon ninja. 

There is space for three stickers a week – one for each test – while the piece of paper is small enough to be carried in a wallet. 

Once the test has been carried out, the sticker can be put on the paper by the student or the teacher. 

An example can be found at the end of the page. 

The number of infections is low in schools, the APA agency reports. The positive rate for students is around 0.08 percent.

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CRIME

Are there ‘young gangs’ forming in Vienna?

If you read Austrian tabloid media, Vienna has a 'gang' problem, with several crimes committed by groups of young people in recent months. But is that true?

Published: 18 April 2024 13:17 CEST
Are there 'young gangs' forming in Vienna?

Austrian tabloid media jumps on such stories: a group of teenage girls breaking into cars in Linz or vandalism and robberies committed by young people in Vienna. Particularly in the capital, it seems that there was a rise in crimes committed by groups of young people. But does that mean that Vienna has a gang problem?

According to the newspaper daily Der Standard, the Vienna Provincial Police Directorate (LPD) repeatedly states that the much-cited youth gangs do not exist but that there is “an increase in young people appearing in groups and committing offences”.  

What does that mean, and what is the difference between “young people appearing in groups and committing offences” and gangs?

According to the police: “The term gang is commonly used in everyday language – without a precise definition in this context. In criminal law, however, the term is clearly defined. From a criminal law perspective, a gang is an organised, hierarchically structured group of people intent on committing offences on an ongoing basis.”

READ ALSO: Which crimes are on the rise in Austria?

According to the police, they are dealing with “groups that come together spontaneously” and are not “hierarchically organised.” These groups mostly commit “thefts or minor robberies” but are not criminal organisations. 

So, technically, Vienna does not have a “youth gang” problem, but it does have an increase in young people in groups committing crimes – though the police didn’t share official numbers.

A recent Kurier report stated that the number of crimes committed by young people and children under the age of 14 has doubled in the last ten years.

At the same time, there has only been a slight increase among young people over the age of 14 and even a decrease among young adults. The main crimes committed by young people and adolescents are theft, damage to property, assault, burglary and dangerous threats.

Christian Holzhacker, Head of Education at the Association of Viennese Youth Centers, told Der Standard that it is important not to “stigmatise” an age group and that the word gang is often used in an “inflationary way”. He points out that in relation to the size of the Viennese population, the number of minors committing crimes is small, even if it is increasing.

He also highlighted that stigmatising regions or groups of young people who get together in public spaces is not the answer. “If you want to fight crime, you have to look at the realities of the lives of the people who have committed crimes,” he said.

READ ALSO: Is Vienna a safe city to visit?

What are the police doing about the crime?

Austria’s federal criminal police office has gathered a new special task force to combat youth crime (EJK). According to the Ministry of the Interior, the idea is to recognise the new phenomenon and combat youth gangs in Austria. 

The task force is set to carry out checks in public spaces, particularly in urban areas and “potential hotspots”, Kurier reported.

The task force also set up a “panel of experts” to suggest how parents can be more responsible, how children’s use of social media and cell phones can be improved, and how the asylum system can better accommodate young migrants.

However, Dieter Csefan, head of the task force, told Die Presse that most young offenders were born in Austria.

“There are unaccompanied minors, but the young people we meet in the groups and gangs usually have parents. And the prolific offenders often come from a normal home. They can also be native Austrians. So it’s not always just Afghans or Syrians”, he said.

He also mentioned that “lowering the age of criminal responsibility is one suggestion” to fight crime. Currently, the age is set at 18, but there are discussions and proposals to lower it to twelve. However, “that alone is not necessarily enough”, he added.

READ NEXT: Which parts of Austria have the highest crime rates?

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