Austria will go into complete lockdown as Covid-19 cases rise

Key Takeaways:

• Austria has ordered a complete national Covid-19 lockdown starting on Monday, only days after imposing a lockdown on the unvaccinated.
• The Czech government has also imposed restrictions on a variety of services.

It would remain a maximum of 20 days, according to Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, and vaccination would be compulsory beginning on February 1, 2022. He was reacting to record case numbers and one of Western Europe’s lowest vaccination rates.

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As the number of cases rises, many other European countries are imposing limitations. “We don’t want the fifth wave,” Mr. Schallenberg said after meeting with the governors of Austria’s nine provinces in a west resort. The chancellor stated that For a long time, there had been a consensus over avoiding mandatory vaccinations.

However, he noted, “too many political forces, flimsy vaccination opponents, and fake news” had incited too many people to avoid the shot. As a result, the measures are still being worked out.

According to the latest numbers, the incidence rate has grown to 1,049.9 cases per 100,000 persons in the last week, and Health Minister Wolfgang Muckstein said a lockdown was a “last resort.” In 1 day, a total of 15,809 cases have been reported in a population of fewer than nine million people.

As a result, Austrians will be asked to work from home, non-essential shops will close, and schools for children who require face-to-face learning will remain open. They will continue till December 12 but will be re-evaluated after ten days.

This week in neighboring Germany, there have been many days of record illnesses, leading Health Minister Jens Spahn to declare “a national emergency requiring a combined national effort.”

In places with high hospital admissions, German leaders have already agreed to impose limits on unvaccinated people. In addition, parliament has approved law requiring people to present their Covid passes on buses, trains, and in the workplace.

The Slovak Prime Minister, Eduard Heger, has declared that a “lockdown for the unvaccinated” will begin on Monday.

Last weekend, the Netherlands imposed a partial lockdown. However, official numbers reveal that in the United Kingdom, where there is currently no lockdown, but masks are required in some areas, the incidence rate per 100,000 is 395.4 cases.

Source: BBC News