24.02.2020 16:13
(Act. 24.02.2020 17:49)
–
–
(from left) Head of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Franz Lang, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP), Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) and Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens) on the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus at the Interior Ministry in Vienna.
© APA / HELMUT FOHRINGER
–
–
–
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP), after meeting with the task force in the Ministry of the Interior on the coronavirus epidemic, outlined the further procedure. This includes an information campaign for the population and occasional travel warnings from the State Department.
The health ministers of neighboring countries in Italy, severely affected, are giving advice in Rome on Tuesday.
–
Five new measures
Five new measures were defined in the task force today: From today, reports from the Minister of the Interior and Health to the Federal Chancellor and corresponding information for the public should be available, Kurz explained. On Thursday, the state governors will continue to coordinate the cooperation between the federal government, the federal states and the municipalities with the heads of the ministries of the interior and health ministries. The corona virus will also be an issue in the National Security Council on Friday.
–
Protective measures, travel warnings and information
The Chancellor also announced an information campaign for the population, which would focus particularly on education and protective measures. The State Department would issue specific travel warnings for affected areas. Finally, cooperation at the European level and with Austria’s neighboring countries will be further intensified. “The warning chains will be made even closer”.
–
Anschober: “Away from a global pandemic”
Minister of Health Rudolf Anschober (Greens) emphasized that although it was no longer a “purely regional epidemic in China”, it was “a long way from a global pandemic”. In any case, the corona virus has arrived in the EU. His Italian counterpart, Roberto Speranza, had told him in a phone call that “very, very specific measures” had been taken against the virus, which was extremely rampant in Italy. Et al thousands of tests are planned in the next few days. At the Rome meeting on Tuesday, the health ministers of Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, France and Germany want to coordinate with Italy.
–
In short: “No need to panic”
“There can be cases of infection in other European countries and of course also in Austria,” said Kurz. Therefore, it is “necessary that we are prepared and equipped for all scenarios”, and that is the case: The task force has been around for a month. Recently, the number of infections with SARS-Cov-2 has risen sharply, it is a “global challenge with a massive focus in China”, where around 98 percent of the confirmed cases were registered. However, there is an increasing international dimension, “recently also in Europe”. So far, all 189 suspected cases in Austria have been tested negatively. “We cannot assume that it will stay that way,” emphasized the Chancellor. “There is no need to panic, but of course you need a realistic view of things,” emphasized Kurz. “It is not out of the question that there may be and may be coronavirus cases in Austria.” The most important thing is to be well prepared for it.
–
– ,
-1582559170.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
