As the infection rate soars to a record high and the intensive care unit is under increasing pressure, Austria will put millions of people who have not been fully vaccinated with Covid-19 under lockdown within a few days.
The country’s worst-affected province of Upper Austria plans to impose a lockdown on unvaccinated people starting next Monday, based on medical experts’ recommendations.
Europe is “At the center of the pandemic” again Due to uneven vaccine coverage and relaxation of preventive measures, new coronary pneumonia cases have reached or exceeded record levels. World Health Organization Said last week, adding that by February, 500,000 people are expected to die in the area.
According to data from the World Health Organization, the number of deaths from the coronavirus across the African continent has increased by 10% in the past week, making it the only region in the world where both Covid-19 cases and deaths are steadily increasing report.
Thomas Stelzer, the governor of the Austrian region, described the situation as “dramatic” and said that the blockade would be implemented, “provided that the federal government issues a legal green light or the federal government creates a legal basis”, Austrian News Agency report.
According to statistics, the province has the lowest vaccination rate and the highest infection rate among the nine Austrian provinces. Government data.
According to data from the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Austria has the lowest vaccination rate among all Western European countries except Liechtenstein.
The daily activities of people who have not been vaccinated will be restricted, including bans from entering restaurants, hotels, hair salons, and large public events.
The region will first enter the fifth level of the five-phase incremental government plan agreed by Austria in September, which stipulates that once 30% of intensive care beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients, those who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus will be placed in blockade. The current level is 20%, and it is rising rapidly.
“According to the incremental plan, we actually only have a few days to lock down people who have not been vaccinated,” Prime Minister Alexander Schellenberg said at a press conference on Thursday, adding that Austria’s vaccination rate is “low. Shameful”.
Approximately 65% of the population in Austria is vaccinated against the coronavirus Statistics display. Upper Austria records less than 60% of the total population vaccinated.
Many Austrians are skeptical of vaccination, which is the encouragement of the third-largest far-right Liberal party in parliament.
During a visit to Bregenz in western Austria on Thursday, Schellenberg said: “I don’t understand why two-thirds of people should lose their freedom, because one-third are hesitant.
“For me, it is clear that out of solidarity with those who have not been vaccinated, people who have been vaccinated should not be locked down.
“Blocking people who have not been vaccinated means that they cannot leave home unless they go to work or go shopping. [for essentials], Stretch our legs-that is, this is everything we have to go through in 2020,” Schellenberg added, referring to the three national lockdowns last year.
The surge in Covid cases in Austria comes at a time when Eastern European countries with the lowest vaccination rates on the continent are experiencing some of the highest daily deaths per capita in the world.
According to the authorities, the number of new coronavirus infections in Austria has risen to a record high again, with 11,975 recorded cases in 24 hours.
The 7-day morbidity rate per 100,000 residents climbed to 751, three times that of neighboring Germany.
Reports from Reuters and Associated Press
