As of August 1, Austria is canceling quarantine for coronavirus patients. The government’s decision was taken in view of the psychological and social consequences of pandemic restrictions. Anxiety and depression have increased worldwide.

“The problem of social unrest worries me as acutely as the crisis caused by the coronavirus,” said Johannes Rauch, Austria’s health minister (Greens). “Now we apply movement restrictions, not mandatory quarantine,” he also stated, but also launched an appeal to citizens: “Whoever is sick, stay at home.”

“We cannot test the pandemic, vaccinate it and isolate it. But we are really well prepared for the new stage of fighting the pandemic,” he said. In addition, there is an obligation to report cases in order to have an overview of the evolution of the disease.

Danger of social unrest

Rauch told the Tiroler Tageszeitung that the war in Ukraine, the gas crisis and rising prices threaten the population in the fall. “I am the minister of social affairs and health care, so the social problem and the problem of social riots concern me as acutely as the coronavirus crisis.”

Rauch cited international models such as Denmark, Norway, Great Britain, Spain and Switzerland. Quarantine there was canceled for a month, without serious consequences.

The Austrian government has also questioned the validity of the number of Covid patients in hospitals. A detailed analysis shows that only about half of the patients examined have Covid as the main diagnosis, said Katharina Reich, an expert at the Ministry of Health, as quoted by Tagesschau.de.

There are no infected visitors

Movement restrictions include banning infected visitors from hospitals, sanatoriums, centers for the elderly and people with disabilities. As can be seen from the project provided to the Austrian press agency APA, infected employees can continue to work in these premises wearing a mask. It is not necessary to wear masks in the open air and at a minimum distance of more than two meters.

Labor Minister Martin Kocher (ÖVP) said that in order to protect people at risk, the Ordinance on Risk Groups will be reinstated by October. This allows the suspension of employees who, despite vaccination, are afraid of a serious illness or cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.

The seven-day incidence of Covid-19 in Austria is about 900 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, which is higher than in Germany.