Austrian Government Warns of Travel to Tyrol
Due to the latest information on the South African Covid-19 mutation in Tyrol, the federal government has issued a travel warning for the province. All non-essential travel should be avoided and the government urges those who have been to Tyrol in the past two weeks to get tested.
Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (middle) and Health Minister Rudolf Anschober see the travel warning for Tyrol as necessity to prevent the South African Covid-19 mutation from spreading. / Picture: © Bundeskanzleramt (BKA) / Andy Wenzel
Mutations of the Covid-19 virus continue to challenge Austria.
The UK mutation is already spreading more and more in the European Union and within Austria.
The South African mutation occurs less frequently, but is even more threatening because a reduced effect is to be feared for vaccines (exact details have not yet been clarified).
According to the latest information, there are now 293 documented cases of the South African mutation in Tyrol, and the number of active cases is estimated by the experts to be at least 140.
Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz:
"Because of these numbers, everything possible must be done to prevent these mutations from spreading further and further. In addition to the measures taken in Tyrol to protect Tyroleans, the federal government warns against travel to Tyrol to prevent the spread of the South African variant and asks all citizens to reduce travel to Tyrol to the absolutely necessary extent."
Health Minister Rudi Anschober adds:
"The new virus mutations present us with major challenges, so far-reaching measures are now needed. Our common goal is to ensure the health protection of the population and to prevent the further spread of the virus. We must all contribute to this now. We are constantly reviewing the situation - additional measures are possible at any time."
The federal government's travel warning is as follows:
- Warning against non-essential travel to Tyrol and non-essential travel to Tyrol should be avoided.
- Everyone who has been in Tyrol in the last two weeks is urged to get tested.
- All those traveling from Tyrol to another province are urged to take a Covid-19 test immediately before traveling.
The federal government also states that it can be assumed that there will be more and more clusters with the South African mutation in the EU and in Austria and that more and more cases of the mutation can be detected through increased testing.
Even if this cannot be prevented, everything must be done to limit these clusters as much as possible regionally and to prevent spread to other regions as much as possible.
In addition, it has been agreed with the Tyrolean government that the situation in Tyrol will be evaluated on a daily basis to determine whether the measures taken to protect Tyroleans are working.