SPÖ leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner joins Mahrer's demand for weekly tests.
Chamber of Commerce President Harald Mahrer rushed forward in the KURIER interview. The planned free trial until January 24th does not go far enough for him. Mahrer demands that there should be weekly Covid-19 tests until Easter in order to bring the infection rate better under control, because it will take a while before there will be a high vaccination rate in the population. In order to prevent a fourth lockdown, the bridging instrument of the Covid-19 rapid tests is needed.
Mahrer's suggestion to facilitate the logistics: “The tests that are carried out in the company should also be recognized by the authorities”.
Home tests
With this demand a new alliance arises. Because SPÖ boss Pamela Rendi-Wagner also calls for regular tests. “They act like a full brake on the Corona,” the red party leader told the KURIER.
But: Austria has to move away from the previous “complex and bureaucratic test system” in order to get through the next few months without further lockdown. Similar to Mahrer, Rendi-Wagner suggests that the tests should come to the people, not the other way around.
How is that supposed to work? “The new paper strip tests make this possible. There are two companies in Europe that produce these tests: Roche and Siemens. These tests can also be made available by the employer without much effort for the employees, as WKÖ President Harald Mahrer suggests, ”explains Rendi-Wagner.
With a national approval from the AGES (Agency for Health & Food Safety), “Austria could go its own way”.
Ida Metzger
