Austria and Germany impose restrictions on unvaccinated people as COVID cases soar: Coronavirus Update: NPR
An Austrian policeman checks a driver’s vaccination certificate at a traffic control stop in Graz, Austria, on Monday.
Erwin Scheriau / APA / AFP via Getty Images
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Erwin Scheriau / APA / AFP via Getty Images
An Austrian policeman checks a driver’s vaccination certificate at a traffic control stop in Graz, Austria, on Monday.
Erwin Scheriau / APA / AFP via Getty Images
Austria has placed around 2 million unvaccinated people on partial lockdown, while neighboring Germany has reintroduced free coronavirus testing, as the two countries face soaring COVID-19 rates in the past year. the context of a new wave of infections across Europe.
Unvaccinated people in Austria will only be allowed to leave their homes for work, grocery shopping or emergencies, under new rules starting Monday.
Police are conducting spot checks on digital vaccine certificates, although there is skepticism about how effectively the lockout can be enforced.
“We really didn’t take this step lightly and I don’t think it should be discussed,” Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg told Ö1 radio.
“What we’re trying to do is minimize contact between unvaccinated and vaccinated people, and also between unvaccinated people,” says Schallenberg.
These measures are expected to be in place for 10 days. Nearly 12,000 people have died since the start of the pandemic in this country of 9 million people.
Germany reintroduced free trial
As Germany faces its worst infection rate since the pandemic began, a similar ban has been put in place in the capital, Berlin, only to people who are fully vaccinated or those who have recently recovered from the disease. only after COVID-19 will be allowed to enter restaurants, cinemas and sports facilities.
The federal government also reverse the process just a month after it announced it would no longer offer free coronavirus testing.
While Germany, 68% and Austria, 65%, surpass the US in percentage fully vaccinated population, they are somewhat behind some other EU members, as well as the UK.
“Our vaccination rate remains below 75% of the German population,” said Dr. Christine Falk, president of the German Society for Immunology. Deutsche Welle. “Combined with the lack of contact restrictions, this allows the virus to spread almost exclusively among unvaccinated people.”
Germany has recorded about 98,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
An angry protest in the Netherlands
Meanwhile, Saturday night, the Netherlands imposed a partial lockdown that is set to remain in place for at least three weeks, amid a surge in COVID-19 cases that have put a severe strain on hospitals. Netherlands.
The measures will limit hours for bars, restaurants and supermarkets. There is also a limit of four guests per household, and spectators are again barred from participating in sporting events.
The measures, announced by acting Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Friday, angered some young Dutchmen, hundreds of whom took to the streets in the northern city of Leeuwarden on Saturday night, where they set off fireworks ahead of time. when he was pushed out of the central square by the police, NOS television reported, according to Related press.
Despite vaccination rates of nearly 85% of the adult population in the Netherlands, the country recorded a record number of new infections on Thursday – more than 16,000.
COVID-19 has killed more than 18,600 people in the country since the pandemic began.
