LAUSR

The first reports about human-to-human transmission of a new severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus in Wuhan, China, which emerged in January 2020 met a relaxed sentiment among experts and the public in Austria who were reminiscent of similar reports on SARS1, H1N1 or H5N1. Even warnings by the World Health Organization (WHO) of COVID19 as a “health emergency of international concern” [1], media coverage on the spread of the virus in Asia and on the situation on cruise ship Diamond Princess [2] and first reports and preprints about clinical courses and disease characteristics [3–6] did not lead to any particular precautions or change in sentiment. It was widely assumed that containment of the disease would be accomplished in Asia like for SARS. Increasing knowledge about non-symptomatic spreading and high case fatality rates in the older population, led to comparisons with influenza and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) risk assessment fourth update reported a “low” risk of COVID-19 for European member states on 14 February 2020 [7]. After personal consultations with the Head of the Vienna City Hospitals, I requested a joint meeting with the Magistrate of the City of Vienna on the consequences of a potential COVID-19 threat in Vienna, which led to a first meeting of stakeholders in Vienna on 23 February and the implementation of a crisis board. Among other issues it concluded that (a) SARSCoV-2 test capacities, which had been established at the Institute of Virology at the Medical University of Vienna needed to be scaled up, (b) any new COVID19 cases should first be contained at home and con-