On Saturday noon, protests began in Vienna against the mandatory vaccination, which will apply from next February, and against the general lockdown that will begin next Monday in Austria.

“Austria again and again” is what the choirs say.

A poster says that the government is planning genocide.

Before the demonstrations began, the Viennese police prepared for a riot. "We are well and broadly positioned to prevent any escalation," said a police spokesman on Saturday. In addition to the normal patrols, 1,300 police officers as well as civil protection officers in civilian clothes are on duty. In the Netherlands there were protests against stricter corona measures on Friday evening.

In Vienna, the organizers tried to confuse the authorities with dozens of rally registrations, the spokesman said.

The right-wing FPÖ, one of the main organizers of the rallies, expects a total of around 10,000 participants to attend the protests.

Their party leader Herbert Kickl, currently suffering from Corona himself, sees Austria on the way to a "dictatorship".

According to media reports, violence is openly called for in relevant Telegram groups.

Vienna records vaccination record

Shortly before the lockdown, Vienna is recording more corona vaccinations than ever before.

29,955 people were vaccinated on Thursday, and 30,788 on Friday.

This is reported by the newspaper Kurier, citing the spokesman for the Vienna City Councilor for Health, Peter Hacker.

That is an "absolute record," wrote Hacker accordingly.

According to the report, the city also wants to send a letter to 340,000 unvaccinated people that already includes a personal vaccination appointment at the Austria Center.

In Austria, a lockdown applies from Monday, which should be over for vaccinated and convalescent people by December 13th at the latest.

The exit restrictions also apply to those who have not been vaccinated.

Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg (ÖV) did not give a deadline for lifting the exit restrictions for this group on Friday evening.

"We have no end date," said Schallenberg in the ORF news program "ZiB2" when asked about it.

It must now finally be possible to drive the vaccination quota up so far that the pandemic will be contained and a lockdown will no longer be necessary in the future, said the head of government.

He urged the unvaccinated to make use of the vaccination offer now.

Sorry to vaccinated people

At the same time, he apologizes to the vaccinated for the drastic step of the exit restrictions that will apply from Monday.

He found it very difficult to bear that one had to demand this act of solidarity from those who had done everything right, said Schallenberg.

The details of the mandatory vaccination from February 2022, also decided by the government, would now be worked out by the experts.

What exceptions there are and how high the penalties should be for violations will only now be determined, said the head of government.

Meanwhile, Austria’s Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen has warned of a rift in society in light of the debates over the new lockdown.

"Let us not be divided," said Van der Bellen in a televised address on Friday evening.

The reactions should not be dominated by anger, pain and anger, but by the insight that only exit restrictions could break the massive fourth corona wave.

The head of state also expressly defended the mandatory vaccination announced by the government.

Citizens have rights, but also obligations.

This includes the duty to protect the community, said Van der Bellen.

Due to the daily record number of new corona infections, Austria now has a seven-day incidence per 100,000 inhabitants of 1050.