Austrians are days away from a first lockdown during the pandemic for anyone not yet fully vaccinated, after record infections were reported across the country this week. The upper Austria province will impose restrictions from Monday if it gets the go-ahead from the federal government, and Salzburg also plans new measures.
Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said a national lockdown for the unvaccinated was "probably inevitable", and that two-thirds of people should not suffer because others are not getting vaccinated.
Upper Austria, which borders Germany and the Czech Republic and has a population of 1.5 million, has the country's highest level of infection and the lowest vaccination rate.
Nationally, a record 11,975 Covid-19 infections were recorded in the past 24 hours and Austria's coronavirus commission has warned of a threat that "must be taken seriously".
Austria is currently seeing the highest daily infections since the pandemic began, and it is keen to avoid a lockdown for the vaccinated. It has already banned the unvaccinated from going to restaurants, cinemas, ski lifts, and hairdressers, but things are about to get even tougher.
The chancellor said that people who have not been vaccinated won't be able to leave home, unless it is for essential reasons like going to work, buying food or exercise, and stressed that if infections continue to rise, the authorities say lockdowns for the unvaccinated could be introduced in other areas.
However, critics say the lockdown will be very hard to enforce, and the far-right opposition Freedom Party has been campaigning on a platform of vaccine skepticism, a message that has found favour with many Austrians. It says the move will create a group of second-class citizens.
Germany:
Austria's seven-day incidence rate is far higher than in neighbouring Germany, where Health Minister Jens Spahn recently warned of a pandemic of the unvaccinated. On Thursday, Germany recorded more than 50,000 daily infections for the first time. Germany's 67.3% vaccination rate is higher than in Austria, but not by much.
Unvaccinated people will in effect be barred from restaurants, hotels, cinemas, and theatres in the state of Brandenburg from Monday, by a "2G" rule limiting access to people who have been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid.
The Netherlands:
The Netherlands is also facing a surge in cases and hospital admissions, with a record 16,364 daily infections announced on Thursday. They announced late last night that they are returning to a partial lockdown from today (Saturday) after the government ordered restaurants and shops to close early and barred spectators from major sporting events in an effort to contain a rapid surge in COVID cases.
Caretaker Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, said restrictions that the Dutch people had thought had ended for good, were being re-imposed for three weeks.
Supermarkets and non-essential retailers will also close earlier and social distancing measures will be re-imposed. The government recommended that no more than four visitors be received at home, effective immediately, and Cafes and nightclubs will have to close at 8pm from today also.
