Due to the rising number of coronavirus infections and the “lockdown” ordered by the federal government, the state of Upper Austria and the Upper Austrian Police Directorate requested assistance from the Austrian Armed Forces on March 20 to deal with the coronavirus crisis. Since March 23, countless soldiers have therefore been deployed in Upper Austria to provide assistance – and many soldiers are still supporting the health authorities.
The Upper Austrian soldiers were first deployed at the border crossings with Germany and the Czech Republic to support civilian authorities with border control management. Logistics specialists from the Austrian Armed Forces also supported civilian food companies in the distribution of food and consumer goods on several occasions this year. Since July, up to 30 soldiers have been supporting the health authorities at the district authorities with contact person management on a daily basis. The soldiers are tasked with contacting affected persons as part of environmental investigations and collecting contact details, movement profiles and health status using questionnaires. Soldiers are currently deployed at the district authorities of Urfahr-Umgebung, Linz Land, Wels Land, Perg, Grieskirchen/Eferding and the Wels municipal authority. A further 350 Upper Austrians are deployed in the Migration Assistance Mission in Styria and Tyrol and 250 soldiers are deployed abroad, mainly in the Balkans. Military Commander Dieter Muhr commented: “Our Upper Austrian soldiers are fully deployed. We will provide the province of Upper Austria with all the support it needs, as far as we can. Because the armed forces are always there when they are needed. Especially in these challenging times, the population must be protected from the coronavirus in the best possible way.”
“We will provide the state of Upper Austria with all the support it needs within the scope of our possibilities. Because the Austrian Armed Forces are always there when they are needed.”
Upper Austrian military commander Brigadier Dieter Muhr
Assistance missions are legally enshrined in the Federal Constitution and the Armed Forces Act. These stipulate that the armed forces are intended, among other things, to provide assistance in the event of natural disasters and accidents of exceptional magnitude.
