Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced on Sunday that a lockdown for unvaccinated people will begin on Monday.
“We must raise the vaccination rate. It is shamefully low,” Schallenberg told a news conference announcing the new measure.
People who have not been fully vaccinated against COVID will only be allowed to leave their homes for specific purposes, like going to a doctor, getting groceries, going to work — or getting vaccinated.
There will be random checks to ensure compliance, according to the decision from a meeting of Schallenberg and the heads of the country’s state governments.
Schallenberg had announced on Friday that he was imposing the lockdown in two regions, Upper Austria and Salzburg, both among the places most impacted by the fallout of people choosing not to take the jab.
At a separate press conference on Friday, Austrian Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein said the government would also introduce a vaccine requirement for people working in the health care industry, but didn’t specify when the rules would go into effect.
Austria has lately seen a rise in the number of reported COVID cases. On Saturday, Austria recorded 13,152 new coronavirus cases, up from 11,798 a day before.
The seven-day infection rate stands at 775.5 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, up from 528.8 a week ago and 316.4 two weeks ago. In comparison, the incidence rate is 277.4 in neighboring Germany, which has also sounded the alarm over rising numbers.
Around 437 people were being treated for the coronavirus in intensive care units in Austrian hospitals as of Friday.
Although the government had planned to implement measures when the number of people being admitted to ICUs reached 600, Schallenberg said Friday that it was “not sensible to wait” any longer.
Unvaccinated people have already been barred from entering restaurants, hotels and events of more than 25 people.
With just 65% of the total population vaccinated, Austria has one of the lowest vaccination rates in western Europe. – DW.
