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Two million unvaccinated Austrians go into quarantine: "The goal - to get them vaccinated"
The country, which has been hit particularly hard by the current wave of morbidity in Europe and is suffering from a burden on hospitals, is threatening to impose fines on unvaccinated citizens who have improved the closure, the first of its kind in the world.
However, there is great doubt, including among senior members of the ruling party and the police, whether this step can be enforced effectively
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Corona virus
Austria
Alexander Schlenberg
News agencies
Monday, November 15, 2021, 1:30 p.m.
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In the video: A press conference at which the Austrian Chancellor announces a closure without the vaccinated (Photo: Reuters)
Austria today (Monday) closed about two million unvaccinated people against the corona virus, for at least ten days.
Police have stepped up checks to ensure the first-of-its-kind closure is enforced in the world, even though the city streets looked as crowded as usual.
Anyone who improves on the new regulations, which do not apply to people aged 12 and under who cannot be vaccinated, risks a fine.
The conservative government in the country, where about nine million people live, restricted the unvaccinated from leaving their homes only for a limited number of reasons, such as commuting to work or shopping for essential goods.
This is in order to deal with a peak in the corona outbreak in the country, where the rate of full immunization is only about 65%, one of the lowest in Western Europe.
During Corona vaccines in Vienna, Austria, yesterday (Photo: Reuters)
Austria is among the countries hardest hit by the fourth wave across Europe, and some countries are considering re-imposing closures.
"My goal is very clear: to get the unvaccinated to get vaccinated, not to shut down the unvaccinated," Chancellor Alexander Schellenberg told ORF radio station, explaining the closure targets announced yesterday.
As the closure begins, police are conducting further checks and Interior Minister Karl Nahmer said yesterday that it will check the immunization status of the citizens it will encounter.
However, there is great doubt, including among senior members of the ruling party and the police, whether the closure can be enforced effectively.
Thus, for example, it is difficult to know whether an unvaccinated person is on his way, as he is allowed, or on the way to purchase non-essential products, in violation of the law.
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To the full article
Many Austrians remain skeptical about vaccines, an opinion encouraged by the far-right Freedom Party, the third largest in parliament.
It plans to hold a protest on Saturday against the government's corona policy, which it claims will make unvaccinated second-class citizens.
Opponents of the government move question its constitutionality.
"Our body, our right to decide," read signs holding several hundred protesters outside the Chancellery in Vienna over the weekend.
One of the protesters said she was "fighting for my rights".
She said, "This is total discrimination what is happening here."
"The goal is very clear: to make the unvaccinated get vaccinated."
Chancellor Schlenberg (Photo: Reuters)
On the other hand, Prof. Eva Scharnhammer, from the Medical University of Vienna, said that these measures are necessary due to the load on the intensive care units in the hospital.
"Already now the forecasts say we will reach the end in two weeks," she warned.
Meanwhile, since unvaccinated people were banned from entering places such as restaurants, cafes, theaters and ski lifts last week, there has been an increase in the number of first-degree vaccinators.
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