Austria confines the unvaccinated, a first in the EU

Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced the lockdown for the unvaccinated at a press conference in Vienna on November 14, 2021. REUTERS - LEONHARD FOEGER

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In Austria, people who have not been vaccinated or who have not recently contracted Covid-19 are confined as of Monday, November 15.

The parliamentary committee gave the green light this Sunday evening.

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The new surge in Covid-19 cases in the European Union is prompting some countries to

. But Austria is the first to impose lockdown on unvaccinated people. The country now has more than 13,000 new cases every day for a population of 9.8 million inhabitants. A figure at the highest since the start of the pandemic which killed 11,700 people.

“

”Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said when announcing the lockdown.

The government hopes above all to convince the reluctant to get vaccinated.

To date, 65% of the population has received their two doses of vaccine, a rate below the European average (67%) and far from countries like Spain (79%) or France (75%).

Two million people affected

Concretely, the two million people affected by confinement will not have the right to leave their homes except for shopping, sports or for medical care. The measure applies from the age of 12. Unannounced checks "

" will be carried out in the public space, the government warned. Additional police patrols for unannounced checks will be set up and offenders risk a 500 euros fine. Those who refuse to submit to inspections will be fined 1,450 euros.

Containment for the unvaccinated is put in place for a period of ten days after which the effect of these restrictions will be assessed.

The unvaccinated are already

.

And that's not all: now, in the capital, to attend festive, cultural or sporting events of more than 25 people or to go out for dinner, everyone will have to present a PCR test in addition to the vaccination certificate or healing.

Anti-vax in the street

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered this Sunday afternoon in front of the chancellery, waving signs saying "no to compulsory vaccination". And in the streets of the Austrian capital, the measure divides, as noted by our correspondent on the spot,

.

"It's unfair because vaccinated people can continue to transmit the virus, yet they can go to the Christmas market, go on vacation, do everything. We want to make the unvaccinated the culprits of the spread of the virus […] A speech that annoys Aloïs, vaccinated, aged about fifty. "It is normal that those who have been vaccinated and thus contribute to society returning to a more or less normal life, can find freedoms.

Those who are not ready to contribute to society should stay at home. "

Report: Viennese divided on containment for the unvaccinated

Isaure Hiace

The city of Vienna has also distinguished itself within the EU by launching a vaccination program for children aged 5 to 11 with Pfizer serum.

More than 5,000 appointments had been booked on Saturday for the first injections scheduled for Monday, while the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is currently examining the data and has not yet given its approval.

However, member countries have the right to use unauthorized products to respond to a “public health” emergency.

 (And with

AFP

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• Austria

• Coronavirus

• Vaccines

• Confinement