Austria is the first country in Europe to introduce compulsory vaccination. The government wants a vaccination obligation to apply from 1 February next year at the latest. This requires a law that must be approved by parliament.
The entire country will also be in lockdown for at least ten and a maximum of twenty days from Monday, Chancellor Schallenberg announced at a press conference.
As of this week, there is already a lockdown for unvaccinated. They are only allowed out for essential things, such as work and essential errands. These rules will apply to everyone from Monday.
The catering industry will close and events will be cancelled. Home education should be provided as much as possible, only if there is no other option can parents take their children to school. Supermarkets, pharmacies and drugstores remain open. After December 12, the lockdown will continue to apply to unvaccinated people.
The federal government follows the example of the federal states of Salzburg and Upper Austria with the lockdown. They had already announced a complete lockdown.
Vaccination obligation
Schallenberg said he was sorry that the lockdown now has to be introduced for everyone, but that it is necessary because of “those who have not shown solidarity”. By that he meant the people who have not been vaccinated.
The vaccination rate in Austria is relatively low. About 65 percent of the entire population, including children under the age of twelve, is fully vaccinated. By way of comparison: in the Netherlands this is 72 percent. In the past seven days, there were an average of 139 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants in Austria, in the Netherlands there are about 105.
Austria has already implemented a 2G policy. This means that only vaccinated and recently cured people have access to, for example, the catering industry.
–
