Austria’s government announced on Friday that everyone in the country will need to be vaccinated by February, making it the first Western European country to implement a full lockdown this fall in order to combat a new wave of infections.
Austria has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Europe, with approximately two-thirds of the population fully vaccinated. The far-right Freedom Party, parliament’s third-largest party, has promoted vaccine scepticism. A rally in support of coronavirus restrictions is planned for Saturday.
People in Austria who had not been fully immunised were placed under lockdown on Monday, but infections have continued to rise since then. It has the highest incidence rate on the continent, with 991 per 100,000 people in a seven-day period.
At a press conference, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg stated that the lockdown would begin on Monday and last up to 20 days because “we have not been able to persuade enough people to get vaccinated.” He went on to say that the universal vaccination requirement will go into effect on February 1st.
As a result of the controversy, tensions between Schallenberg’s right-wing conservatives and their coalition partner, the Greens, have grown. Even as Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein called for a nighttime curfew, Schallenberg stated just a few days ago that he did not want to impose additional restrictions on the unvaccinated.
“Too many of us have not banded together as a community. Everyone’s assistance is required. Participate in these measures and try to limit our social contacts to no more than 20 days in order to protect the Christmas holidays.” This is according to Schallenberg.
