Austria Announces Full COVID Lockdown, Vaccination Order
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Austria has announced a full lockdown starting Monday and will force all its citizens to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg revealed the measures Friday after a lockdown was already introduced for the unvaccinated.
Under the measures, Austrians will have to work from home, and non-essential shops will close, while schools remain open for children who require face-to-face learning. All citizens will also be forced to take COVID-19 vaccinations from February 1, the government announced.
Austria is the first European Union nation to introduce such restrictions this EU winter. The national lockdown was to continue until at least December 12 but will be reassessed after 10 days, officials said.
Authorities claim the measures are needed to curb coronavirus cases, now about 1,000 per 100,000 citizens.
“We don’t want the fifth wave,” stressed Schallenberg following talks with the governors of Austria’s nine provinces at a resort in western Austria.
NON-VACCINATED BLAMED
Authorities have accused non-vaccinated people of contributing to the rise in infections, though fully vaccinated people also sought hospital treatment for COVID-19.
Around two-thirds of Austria’s population of nearly 9 million is fully vaccinated, which is among the lowest rates in Western Europe, authorities say.
It comes amid mounting hesitancy throughout the alpine nation and the European Union about what critics view as “experimental jabs” amid reported side effects and deaths.
European government actions to vaccinate young children and even babies also added to protests in several nations.
The EU’s European Medicines Agency recently said COVID vaccines may have caused more than 6, 000 deaths in the 27-nation bloc.
Doctors also reported adverse reactions in over 400 babies under the age of 2, including 147 younger than 1-month month-old.
FRENCH CHILDREN SUFFERING
In France, 208 children were recently reported to have suffered severe medical side effects (paralysis in 10 cases) after receiving the Pfizer vaccine.
EMA counters that underlying health conditions may have caused the side effects and claims that hundreds of millions of jabs were given within the EU without severe consequences.
As Austria increases restrictions, neighboring Hungary’s government said it would make “a booster shot,” a mandatory third vaccine for all healthcare workers.
Additionally, all 101 hospitals in Hungary will offer coronavirus jabs, including booster shots, without an appointment for a week starting Monday until Sunday, the government said.
In nearby Slovakia, Prime Minister Eduard Heger explained that a lockdown for the unvaccinated would start on Monday, and the Czech government was also limiting access to a variety of services.
The Netherlands already introduced “a partial lockdown” last weekend.
GERMANY INTRODUCING MEASURES
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, also agreed to introduce restrictions for unvaccinated people in areas “with high COVID hospital admissions.”
The measures impact a dozen of Germany’s 16 states.
The Europe regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Hans Kluge, pressured EU nations to act.
He warned of “a hard winter” ahead.
Kluge blames “insufficient vaccination” coverage along with “the easing of preventive measures” and the spread of the “more transmissible Delta variant” for the current difficulties.
Skeptical legislators say the promoted WHO policies create parallel, “segregated societies,” adding to tensions between vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
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