The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) region with the Australian capital Canberra remains in lockdown for another month.

The regional government made this decision on Tuesday after authorities in the territory reported 22 new corona infections within 24 hours.

Canberra is surrounded by the state of New South Wales, which has been particularly hard hit by the current wave and has been in lockdown for a good month.

In mid-August, a corona case was confirmed in ACT for the first time in a year.

The regional government also announced that so far around 50 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated.

Around 430,000 people live in the Australian Capital Territory.

The restrictions should only be relaxed when at least 70 percent of citizens have received two doses of vaccine, it said.

The states of New South Wales with the metropolis Sydney and Victoria with the megacity Melbourne are still in lockdown.

Australia with its 25 million inhabitants has pursued a zero Covid strategy since the beginning of the Corona crisis and has long been successful in the fight against the pandemic due to extremely strict rules.

Due to the spread of the delta variant, however, the lockdowns are increasing.

General vaccination requirements in Turkmenistan and the Vatican

Meanwhile, numerous countries around the world are discussing the introduction of compulsory vaccinations.

Often - as in Germany, for example - only certain professional groups such as nursing staff or school staff are considered.

Some countries have already introduced the obligation in one form or another.

Compulsory vaccination for the entire adult population of a country is rare.

The largely isolated Turkmenistan is one of the few countries in the world that has not yet officially reported a single corona case.

Nevertheless, in the Central Asian country there is a compulsory corona vaccination for all residents over the age of 18 "without medical contraindications".

In the smallest country in the world, the Vatican, compulsory vaccination was introduced for all residents and employees there on February 8th.

Theoretically, the penalties for a violation can range up to dismissal.

In some countries there is formally no general compulsory vaccination, but the restrictions for non-vaccinated people are so massive that they come very close to an obligation.

In Saudi Arabia, only those who have been vaccinated have access to government and private facilities, including educational and entertainment venues and public transport.

In the province of Balochistan in Pakistan, all non-vaccinated persons have been banned from government offices, shopping centers and parks since July 1, nor are they allowed to use public transport.

Compulsory vaccination for certain groups in several countries

Some countries and areas, on the other hand, have only issued a corona vaccination requirement for certain population or occupational groups. In the United States, President Joe Biden announced a compulsory vaccination for all federal agency employees and government contractor employees last Thursday. Even employees of state-sponsored nursing homes and in schools controlled by the federal government can no longer avoid vaccination. In Canada, vaccination is planned for 300,000 federal civil servants, as well as for all train, air and ship travelers.