Austria will soon bar the unvaccinated from entering a long list of public places, among them bars, cafes and hotels, the country’s chancellor said, pointing to an unexpectedly rapid surge in Covid-19 cases.
According to Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, the ban on entry will be in effect from next week. It will affect cafes and bars as well as restaurants and theaters. The move could affect a large swath of Austria’s population, with some 36% of its residents still not fully immunized against the virus.
“The evolution is exceptional and the occupancies of intensive-care beds are increasing significantly faster than we had expected,”Schallenberg spoke out in announcing these new restrictions as cited on Reuters.
New daily cases hit 9,388 on Friday, inching toward Austria’s record tally of 9,586 recorded last year, and the government says it expects the numbers to reach new highs in the weeks ahead.
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While the measures will come into force on Monday, Schallenberg noted that there would be a four-week transition period, during which those who’ve received their first vaccine dose and can provide a negative PCR test will be exempt from the rules. However, public places will be closed to anyone who has not been vaccinated, or someone with a recent Covid infection, after four weeks.
As the chancellor stated, the restrictions are similar to those in Vienna this week and do not affect workers, but patrons. “One is a leisure activity undertaken voluntarily – no one forces me to go to the cinema or the restaurant – the other is my place of work.”
The conservative-led government has outlined even harsher restrictions on the unvaccinated if 600 or more of Austria’s intensive-care beds are filled with Covid patients, effectively placing them on lockdown. Reuters said that although the figure stood at 352, it has increased at a pace of over 10 per day since Thursday.
Austria is not the only European country to have implemented similar broad entry bans. France and Italy also created their own systems for enforcing the regulations. Germany is also considering the idea. Angela Merkel, the outgoing German Chancellor, demanded that Germany implement an incremental lockdown and mandatory vaccines. “severe restrictions”This week’s update on Germany’s unvaccinated.
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