Corona costs in Austria: 11.46 billion euros and big lessons!

Corona costs in Austria: 11.46 billion euros and big lessons!

Vienna – The Austrian Ministry of Health has described the financial impact of the corona pandemic on the country in detail in a recent presentation. Overall, the pandemic will cost 11.46 billion euros by the end of 2024. The main expenses include numerous areas that were used to combat the spread of the virus.

The largest items include testing, which, at 5.18 billion euros, accounts for almost half of the total expenditure. 1.77 billion euros were spent on vaccinations, of which one billion euros was used to purchase the vaccines alone. Other cost items include loss of earnings due to isolation, which costs 2.44 billion euros, as well as expenses for protective equipment, medication and social measures.

Costs in detail

Concrete figures show that 110 million of the 208 million tests carried out were PCR tests. Estimates show that more than half of the tests took place in Vienna, where 75.6 million tests were carried out. In comparison, only 23 million tests were carried out in Styria, even though more than half of Vienna's residents live there. It should be noted that tests in schools and companies are not included in these figures because they were taken over by the Ministry of Education and Labor respectively.

In addition to the costs mentioned above, there are further considerations regarding other ministries' spending on Corona measures that are not included in the current report. Meanwhile, another analysis from data. Today the total for Corona costs in Austria is around 8.66 billion euros. However, these amounts are not completely consistent and raise questions about the exact total expenditure.

Political reactions and outlook

In the Health Committee, Health Minister Johannes Rauch explained the costs and noted that the focus must be placed in particular on preparation for future epidemics through a revised Epidemic Act and a solid pandemic plan. In response to the high burden of financial expenses, the FPÖ has submitted an application for an “immediate end to all Corona measures”, which, among other things, calls for a refund of fines. However, the application was postponed.

Gerald Loacker of the NEOS expressed concerns about the distribution of vaccines, while government parties praised the transparency in financial matters. Discussions about lessons learned from this crisis could be crucial in the coming months to create better structures and be prepared for the future.

This complex discussion about the financial effects of the corona pandemic and the associated political reactions shows how deeply the crisis has intervened in Austria's social and financial structures. The coming months could be crucial to learn from experiences and better manage future pandemics.

For more information about financial expenses during the pandemic, see 5min and Today.