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Those who do not get vaccinated will have to pay a large fine, Austrian media report. It is not yet known how high those fines will be.
People are only allowed to leave home for shopping, exercise, work or a visit to a doctor. This was decided after consultations between the government and the nine federal states, two of which, Salzburg and Upper Austria, had already taken this drastic measure, but until Christmas.
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Alexander Schallenberg
Ⓒ ANP/HH
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‘We don’t want a fifth wave’
Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced the “difficult decisions”, referring to the great human suffering. “We don’t want a fifth wave.” In Austria, just over 65 percent of the population has been vaccinated, which the prime minister says is scandalously low. “Despite months of persuasion, we have not been able to get enough people vaccinated,” said Schallenberg, who accused vaccine rejecters of an “attack on the health care system.”
2G rule
The lockdown can be extended by ten days. Since Monday, a lockdown has been in effect in the Alpine country for people over the age of 12 who have not been fully vaccinated, on pain of a fine of 1450 euros. By December 13, the lockdown will be over for those who have been vaccinated and recovered. Then the 2G rule should apply again. The restrictions for unvaccinated people therefore continue to apply.
It is the fourth time that the country with almost nine million inhabitants has gone into lockdown. The states of Salzburg and Upper Austria have the highest infection rates in the country and hospitals are full of corona patients. The country has about 12,000 corona-related deaths.
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