Austria on Friday decided
to impose a lockdown and make vaccinations mandatory, thereby becoming the
first European Union country to take such drastic steps to fight the recent
surge in coronavirus infections. Vaccinations in Austria will be mandatory from
February 1 and the lockdown will take effect from Monday. The lockdown call
will be reevaluated after 10 days, Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg
said.

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Addressing the
media, Schallenberg said, “Despite months of persuasion, we have not succeeded
in convincing enough people to get vaccinated.” Sharply criticising those who
refused to get vaccinated, the Austrian chancellor called them an “attack on
the health systems”.

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Lockdowns in
Austria will be stringent as people will not be allowed to venture out of their
homes except for shopping for essentials and exercising. Austria imposed a
lockdown of the unvaccinated earlier this week, setting an example among
European nations and further prodding its citizenry to get jabbed.

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Austria recorded 15,000
new COVD-19 cases, a record for the country with a population of nine million
people. While vaccinations have been a problem in the Alpine nation, the recent
lockdown of the unvaccinated has made more people inclined to receive the jab.

While Austria’s vaccination
rate is slightly lower than other European nations, it is significantly better
than developing nations. Austria has vaccinated nearly 66% of its population.
Europe, as a whole, is witnessing a surge in infections. Austria’s neighbour
Hungary has also imposed a mask mandate.

Authorities in
Austria have also imposed stringent entry restrictions owning to surge in
infections and to prevent hospitals from overcrowding. The new, stringent entry
restrictions will come into effect from November 22 and people will no longer
be allowed to enter the country with rapid antigen test results. Only PCR test
results will be allowed from then on. PCR tests will remain valid for only 72
hours.