this Austria The government ordered a nationwide lockdown of unvaccinated people from midnight on Sunday to slow the rapid spread of the coronavirus in the country.
This prohibits people over 12 years of age who have not been vaccinated from leaving home, except for basic activities such as work, grocery shopping, walking, or vaccinations.
Authorities worry that hospital staff will not be able to handle the increasing influx of patients. Coronavirus disease patience.
“As the Austrian government, our job is to protect the people,” Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schellenberg told reporters in Vienna on Sunday. “Therefore, we decided to start from Monday… to lock down people who have not been vaccinated.”
According to the news agency APA, the blockade affects about 2 million people in this Alpine country with a population of 8.9 million. It does not apply to children under 12 years of age because they cannot be formally vaccinated yet.
Schallenberg said that the lockdown will initially last 10 days, and the police have been asked to check people outside to make sure they are vaccinated.
Austria has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Western Europe: only about 65% of the total population has been vaccinated. In recent weeks, the country has faced a worrying trend of infections. The country reported 11,552 new cases on Sunday; there were 8,554 new infections a week ago.
The 7-day infection rate was 775.5 new cases per 100,000 residents. In contrast, neighbouring Germany has a ratio of 289, which has also sounded the alarm for the rising number.
Schellenberg pointed out that although the seven-day infection rate of people who have been vaccinated has been declining in recent days, the infection rate of people who have not been vaccinated has also been rising rapidly.
“The number of people who have not been vaccinated exceeds 1,700, while the number of people who have been vaccinated is 383,” the Chancellor of Finance said.
Schellenberg also called on people who have been vaccinated to have booster injections, otherwise “we will never be able to get out of this vicious circle.”
View link »
© 2021 Canadian Press
