Covid: Austria is 1st country in Europe to impose new total lockdown with fear of 5th wave
One in three Austrians is still unvaccinated, one of the lowest rates in Western Europe
Amidst a significant increase in the number of covid cases, especially among unvaccinated ones, and facing one of the lowest vaccination rates in Western Europe, this Friday (19/11) Austria became the first country on the continent European Union to reinstate national confinement.
The measure is valid from next Monday (22/11) and takes place days after the Austrian government imposed a confinement to the unvaccinated.
Austria's Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said the new lockdown would last at least 10 days and that there would be a legal requirement from February 1, 2022 for people to get vaccinated.
After the ten-day period, the government will re-evaluate whether the confinement will be extended or not.
"We don't want a fifth wave," Schallenberg said after meeting the governors of Austria's nine provinces in western Austria.
Under the measures, Austrians will be instructed to work from home, non-essential shops will be closed and schools will remain open for children who need face-to-face learning.
Many other European countries are imposing restrictions as cases increase.
Slovakia's Prime Minister, Eduard Heger, announced what he called a confinement for the unvaccinated, effective from next Monday, and the Czech government is also limiting access to a range of services. The Netherlands introduced partial confinement last weekend.
Germany has already decided to introduce restrictions for unvaccinated people in areas with high admissions to covid hospitals, which would affect 12 of the 16 states in the country.
The World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, warned of a severe winter ahead.
He blamed insufficient vaccine coverage along with "the relaxation of preventive measures and the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant".
On Thursday (11/18), the scientific journal Nature published a study in which it says that the covid pandemic can cause over 300,000 deaths in 19 countries in Europe.
Research suggests that the pandemic could lead to around one million hospitalizations in Europe. The authors emphasize that their estimates are maximum numbers and that they assume that all restrictions have been lifted and that people-to-people contacts have returned to pre-pandemic levels. The study has not yet undergone peer review.
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