The Austrian Chancellor stated that starting from Monday, Austria will lock down millions of people who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus to deal with the surge in infections.
“We must increase the vaccination rate. This is shamefully low,” Alexander Schellenberg said at a news conference on Sunday, announcing the measure after a video call with the governors of nine Austrian provinces. A blockade of the two provinces of Upper Austria and Salzburg was announced on Friday, but Sunday’s operation extended the blockade to the whole country.
Approximately 65% of the population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19, which is one of the countries with the lowest coverage in the western region Europe.
Europe has once again become the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting some governments to consider re-imposing unwelcome lockdown measures.
Many Austrians are skeptical of vaccines, and the far-right Liberal Party (the third largest party in parliament) encourages this view.
Although the Netherlands is responding to the surge in infections by imposing a partial lockdown that applies to everyone, the conservative-led government of Austria has stated that it wants to avoid further restrictions on people who are fully vaccinated.
Austrian Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein said that people 12 years and younger will not be subject to lockdown, and those who have not been vaccinated can only leave home for limited reasons, such as going to work or buying necessities. He said that the blockade will initially last 10 days.
Many officials, including Schallenberg’s conservative Austrian People’s Party and the police, expressed doubts whether the blockade can be implemented correctly, because it only applies to a part of the population. However, Schellenberg and Interior Minister Carl Nehammer stated that the police will conduct a thorough inspection.
Meanwhile, late Saturday, the Dutch police arrested 15 people in a small town in the north of the Netherlands when they clashed with demonstrators protesting against the new partial blockade.
Police said hundreds of people gathered in a square in the center of Leeuwarden to protest the new regulations that bars and restaurants must be closed at 8pm.
On Friday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced at least three weeks of lockdown measures against restaurants, shops and sporting events to curb the record peak of coronavirus infections.
Reuters and AFP contributed to this report
