Austria announces Europe's first nationwide vaccine mandate and reimposes lockdown as Covid-19 soars

[brooklynite]

Source: CNN

(CNN)Austria is going back into a national lockdown and plans to become the first country in Europe to make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for all eligible people as the nation's coronavirus crisis deepens, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced Friday.

Schallenberg said his government would look to impose the national vaccine requirement from February 1. Just under 66% of Austria's total population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19, one of the lower rates in the European Union, where cases are surging.

The national lockdown -- the first in Europe this fall -- starts Monday and will last for 10 days minimum, and could be extended for a further 10 days, Schallenberg told reporters at a news conference in Vienna.

"We don't want a fifth wave. We don't want a sixth and seventh wave. We don't want to have this discussion next summer," Schallenberg said.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/19/europe/austria-national-lockdown-intl/index.html

[iluvtennis]

1. America are you listening? US has always followed trend of Europe in this pandemic. n/t

[womanofthehills]

5. A civil war would break out

[Pachamama]

2. Germany should do this too

Enough of the coddling of anti-vaxxers and treating their insane theories as legit. Enough of the German Government giving “Genesen” (had Covid and recovered) as equal status as vaccinated.

[ffr]

3. Yup. And Rs here are getting sick already.

One is in the hospital, a drone anti-vaxer.

[StopTheRight2024]

4. Vaccine is effective

The anti-vaxxers are guilty in making those of us vaccinated sick!

We need to just jab everyone to stop the spread.

100% compliance!!

[iluvtennis]

6. + agree. Vaccines and masks are the weapons needed to fight this war on the pandemic.

Welcome to DU @StopTheRight2024 -love your handle.