All Austrian residents will be legally required to receive the vaccine by February 1st 2022, as the country goes under lockdown starting Monday.
The move comes after the government last week decided to lock down only those who were unvaccinated over the age of 12. This was an unprecedented move which saw the unjabbed minority kept home for all but “essential” purposes, while the remainder of society could live their lives as normal.
Starting today, all unvaccinated Austrians over the age of 12 – around 2 million people – have been put under lockdown on pain of substantial fines. Meanwhile, the fully-vaccinated majority can live their lives freely. #gripthttps://t.co/oYVJB09z8z
— gript (@griptmedia) November 15, 2021
However, now the lockdown has been extended to all citizens as cases surge.
Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said that the lockdown would only last a maximum of 20 days. However, he said “We don’t want a fifth wave.”
While he said he had resisted imposing mandatory vaccination on the population for a long time, he said that resistance was high due to “too many political forces, flimsy vaccination opponents and fake news.”
“Sustainably increasing the vaccination rate is the only way to get out of this vicious circle…Too many people have behaved with a lack of solidarity,” he said.
All Austrians will be required by law to take the jab by February 1st under the newest announcement.
Moreover, in Germany, where cases are also surging, restrictions have been introduced only for the unvaccinated in areas with high hospital admissions. Czech Republic has taken similar measures, and in Slovakia, a lockdown only for the unvaccinated will begin on Monday. The Netherlands has also implemented a partial lockdown as of last weekend.