Austria enforces tougher Covid-19 measures for unvaccinated

Vienna, November 9 (BNA): Austria has introduced new measures targeting those still not immune to the coronavirus, in a bid to combat rising levels of infection.

From Monday, only vaccinated people who have recovered from Covid-19 are allowed to eat in restaurants, attend sporting events or use the country’s ski lifts, German news agency dpa reported.

The rule also applies to hotels and to services such as hair salons.

“We believe this can make a strong contribution to reining in what is happening,” Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler told Austrian television on Sunday.

He added that regional authorities could take stricter measures if they felt necessary, including a local lockdown “as a last resort”.

Following the new restrictions, vaccination centers have been reactivated and hundreds of additional police officers have been deployed for monitoring.

“We will increase the control pressure significantly in the next few days,” Interior Minister Karl Nahamer said during a press conference on Monday.

But the conservative minister said it was important to proceed prudently and work with the population to implement the new regulation.

Even before the new measures were introduced, there was a sharp increase in vaccinations over the weekend. However, not all regions were prepared for the high demand.

So far, more than a quarter of people in Austria aged 12 or over still do not have a vaccination certificate, which has been cited as one of the main reasons for the sharp rise in cases and hospitalizations.

The numbers took another turn for the worse on Monday, as 8,178 new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, which means the country’s infection rate per 100,000 residents is now 633, up from 599.6.

In Upper Austria and the Salzburg region – the two federal states with the lowest levels of vaccine uptake – the infection rate has already crossed the 900 mark.

The new procedures are implemented gradually over a period of four weeks, during which proof of the first vaccine and a negative PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test will be sufficient. Children under the age of 12 are exempted from the regulations, and a negative test is sufficient for those between the ages of 13 and 15.

People who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons may continue to participate in public life with a medical certificate and PCR test. In Austria, rapid and PCR tests are free for everyone.

However, despite new efforts to control the virus, some members of the country’s business community are concerned that the recent outbreak could dampen foreign interest in visiting Austria.

Businesses like hotels do brisk trade in December when people come to the country to watch the Christmas markets.

That would not only be bad for markets, but for related industries, such as hotels, business leaders say.

MI