The government wants to repeat the “antibody study” carried out last year. This is to clarify how many people in Austria are already protected against the corona virus. Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) announced the new edition of the study by the Ministry of Science in the Health Committee. As the parliamentary correspondence further reported, minimum penalties are also set for violations of the Corona regulations.
On Thursday, the committee launched a series of legislative changes to combat the Covid 19 pandemic, which can now be decided in the plenary session of the National Council. Pensioners will be able to return to health jobs in 2022 without losing their early retirement. Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) will determine by ordinance whether and for which groups of people pharmacies and doctors can continue to carry out corona tests at health insurance costs.
In the event of violations of the corona protective measures, not only maximum penalties should apply in future, but also minimum penalties. Anyone who violates exit restrictions or celebrates in actually closed bars should pay at least a tenth of the maximum fine. Exceptions are provided for young people or if there are predominant mitigating reasons. The penalties are due to expire with the Epidemic Act at the end of June 2022. Until then, the district authorities may continue to inform the mayors about quarantine measures in the community, if this is necessary to take care of those affected.
All those who have not yet been vaccinated will receive mail in the next few days with a suggested date, Mückstein announced. In addition, the government wants to increasingly rely on digital advertising for the vaccination, provide information about vaccination in children and repeat the antibody study. Such a study among 2,229 people over 16 had found at the end of 2020 that 4.7 percent of the population (439,000 people) had already gone through a Covid 19 infection at the time. The Ministry of Science has agreed to repeat it this year, said Mückstein.
It is also made clear that there are no social security contributions for meal vouchers in the home office. In addition, companies can defer their social security contributions for November and December until the end of January 2022 if they cannot be paid due to the pandemic.
To procure Corona drugs, Mückstein was authorized to procure them outside of the common purchasing system of the EU states (“Joint Procurement”) – whereby the MPs assume that the originally assumed costs of 50 million euros will not be sufficient.