Lockdown approved for Austrian residents without coronavirus jabs

Vienna, Nov. 15 (BNA): Austrian residents who have not received a coronavirus vaccination will have to go into lockdown, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg and state heads of state agreed on Sunday.

Actions will be applied from Monday.

Citizens who have not been vaccinated will be allowed to leave their homes only to shop for basic necessities, go to work or see a doctor. It will also allow them to go outside for fresh air at any time for the benefit of their physical and mental health.

There will be random inspections to ensure compliance, according to the decision of the meeting of Schallenberg and the country’s state heads of government.

Violations of the lockdown are punishable by fines of up to 1,450 euros ($1,660). The German News Agency (dpa) stated that there will be an exception for schools and pupils.

The chancellor also noted that individual states are free to provide stricter guidelines if they wish.

Records are set almost daily for infections in Austria. On Saturday, the authorities recorded more than 13,000 injuries.

Schallenberg said the decision was “not taken lightly.”

“With vaccination rates the same, we will remain stuck in a vicious cycle” of coronavirus infection, he said. He said the “shamefully low” uptake of vaccination had to be forced up. So far, only about 65 percent of people in Austria are vaccinated.

The closure measures will be in effect for an initial period of 10 days, and will affect about two million people. Health Minister Wolfgang Mikstein said the aim was to encourage the desire for vaccinations and reduce social contact by about 30 percent.

There are indeed major limitations to non-vaccinators. For example, they need to show a negative coronavirus test to go to work, and they cannot participate in many aspects of public life.

The seven-day rate of new infections per 100,000 population increased to 814.6. Looking only at the unvaccinated, the seven-day infection rate rises to more than 1,700 per 100,000, Schallenberg noted.

The government had initially only planned to go ahead with the shutdown plan once hospitals in the country counted 600 intensive care beds occupied by coronavirus patients. At the moment, that number is 433. But the number of cases is rising so quickly that the government has been pushed to take faster action.

Healthcare experts still want more, arguing that the lockdown should extend to everyone. The government resisted this argument, fearing that it would lead to a decline in vaccination readiness.

On the other side of the debate, the far-right Freedom Party has expressed its anger at a vulnerable lockdown and party leader Herbert Kekel has called for a protest next Saturday in the capital, Vienna.

Kekel wrote on Facebook that the country was introducing a “corona apartheid system”. He also announced that he would file a complaint with the Constitutional Court demanding damage to basic freedoms.

The FPOe has long been critical of restrictions aimed at curbing coronavirus infection and has criticized the vaccination campaign.

Kickl spoke of “experimental vaccines” and recommended an antiparasitic drug to treat Covid-19.

His party stands at about 20 percent in national opinion polls.

FKN