Austria: End to lockdown – Compulsory vaccination is underway

Austria ended today the total lockdown which it had imposed on November 19 while maintaining the restrictions for the unvaccinated, as broadcast by the Bloomberg agency.

Unvaccinated people can leave their homes only to go to work, where they will have to take a negative covid test every two days. At the same time, it is allowed to go out for the necessary shopping and daily exercise, with the entry to other places being explicitly forbidden.

As for the vaccinated or those who have recovered, life will gradually return to normal, as the measures are relaxed. Concerts will start again, museums and restaurants will reopen and Christmas markets will come to life again.

The lockdown helped reduce day-to-day infections in Austria to about a third of their peak in late November, but hospitalizations remain worrying.

The country’s officials also fear a new wave of infections that will start in January, if the most contagious Omicron mutation already detected in Austria dominates.

About 72% of Austrians have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, up from 68% a month ago, while 69% are fully vaccinated.

How Austria plans to impose compulsory vaccination

New Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer is leading efforts to make vaccines mandatory from February. The dissidents face fines of up to 3,600 euros, according to a bill. All but one of the parliamentary groups support the initiative.

The exception is the far-right Freedom Party, which staged a demonstration in central Vienna on Saturday, attended by more than 40,000 people, according to police estimates.

Although they do not pursue Austrian policies, some European countries have made vaccination mandatory for certain occupations, including doctors, teachers or public sector workers. Bloomberg also refers to the case of Greece, which has made them mandatory for people over 60 years.

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Source From: Capital

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