Foreign
Austria to go into full lockdown as Covid surges
Published
2 years agoon
By
Vida Essel-LampteyDays after Austria imposed a lockdown on the unvaccinated, it has announced a full national Covid-19 lockdown starting on Monday.
Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said it would last a maximum of 20 days and there would be a legal requirement to get vaccinated from 1 February 2022.
He was responding to record case numbers and one of the lowest vaccination levels in Western Europe.
Many other European countries are imposing restrictions as cases rise.
“We don’t want a fifth wave,” said Mr Schallenberg after meeting the governors of Austria’s nine provinces at a resort in the west of the country.
For a long time, there had been a consensus over avoiding mandatory vaccinations, the chancellor said.
However, too many people had been incited not to get the jab, because of “too many political forces, flimsy vaccination opponents and fake news”, he added. The measures are yet to be finalised.
Latest figures show an incidence rate of 990.7 cases per 100,000 people in the past week, and Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein said imposing a lockdown was a “last resort”.
Under the measures, Austrians will be asked to work from home, non-essential shops will close, and schools will remain open for children who require face-to-face learning. They will continue until 12 December, but will be reassessed after 10 days.
Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger has already announced that what he called a lockdown for the unvaccinated would start on Monday, and the Czech government is also limiting access to a variety of services. The Netherlands introduced a partial lockdown last weekend.
German leaders have agreed to introduce restrictions for unvaccinated people in areas with high Covid hospital admissions that would affect 12 of Germany’s 16 states.
On Friday, the upper house of Germany’s parliament approved requirements for people to show proof of vaccination, negative tests or recovery on buses, trains and workplaces.
Austria’s is the first full lockdown imposed by an EU country this winter.
The Europe regional director of the World Health Organization, Hans Kluge, has warned of a hard winter ahead. He blamed insufficient vaccination coverage along with “the easing of preventive measures and the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant”.
Russia on Friday declared a record number of 1,254 Covid deaths in the past 24 hours, for the third day in a row.
Hungary reported its highest level of infections – with 11,289 new cases in a population of 10 million. A third booster jab will be made mandatory for health workers from Saturday, along with masks in most enclosed paces.
Tighter restrictions also come into force in Belgium on Saturday, requiring working from home for four days a week.
Source: BBC
You may like
-
Shanghai schools to go online as Covid spreads in China
-
US President Joe Biden test positive for Covid
-
North Korea announces first death from Covid-19
-
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, wife, others to be fined over lockdown parties
-
Covid-19: Challenges of the hearing impaired in the Northern Region
-
French uproar as Macron vows to ‘piss off’ unvaccinated
Mahama leads NDC to mourn with Kufuor over wife’s passing
Former President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday, October 4 led a delegation from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to visit...
Former First Lady of Ghana Theresa Kufuor reported dead
The former First Lady of Ghana and wife of Ghana’s former President, John Agyekum Kufour, Mrs Theresa Kufuor has been...
The most powerful tool for change is the right to vote – Mahama
The 2024 flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, is rallying Ghanaains who have grown disillusioned with...
PFJ was a mere state resource looting platform – Minority
The Minority has descended heavily on the Akufo-Addo-led government for launching a second phase of the flagship Planting for Food...
ECOWAS is desecrating Ghana
The Director of Legal Affairs of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Abraham Amaliba has said the Economy Community of...
Prof Gyampo elected President of UTAG, University of Ghana branch
A Senior Lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana (Legon), Prof Ransford Gyampo have been elected...