Austria threatens another lockdown. But only for the unvaccinated. The lockdown is not intended to apply to people who have been vaccinated or recovered.
The number of infections is increasing significantly and the situation in the country is worsening. Within 24 hours, 3624 new infections were counted, as the Interior and Health Ministry reported on Sunday. That is 60 percent more than a week ago! Now the government wants to act.
“We are about to stumble into a pandemic of unprotected unvaccinated people,” said Austria’s Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg (52, ÖVP) on Friday evening. If the situation in the intensive care units worsens dramatically, unprotected people would have to expect exit restrictions, the head of government said. They are then only allowed to leave their apartment in exceptional cases, for example to go shopping.
Plan with a signal effect
There is a calculation behind these plans. 64 percent of the population in Austria are currently fully vaccinated. There are still too many hesitants and procrastinators, said Schallenberg. He therefore hoped for a signal effect. The government in Vienna has presented a step-by-step plan that is to be used for further measures.
The plan has five stages. The country is currently at level one, said Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (47). There are currently around 220 intensive care beds occupied by Covid patients. The situation in the intensive care units is still stable – despite the increasing number of new infections.
However, if this number increases to 500 (25 percent), the 2G rule will be applied in many areas, for example in gastronomy. If the number of occupied intensive care beds climbs to 600 (30 percent), then the fifth and last stage of the step-by-step plan would be reached. With the massive exit restrictions for unvaccinated people.
Opposition speaks of blackmail
The government’s plans were met with harsh criticism from the opposition. The head of the right-wing populist FPÖ, Herbert Kickl (53), railed in a written statement: “The federal government is at the end of its line. Now she is starting a desperate attack on the population with the preparation of protective custody for the unvaccinated. ” It is a step that reminds us of the darkest chapters in Austrian history. “With the threat of deprivation of liberty, people are supposed to be blackmailed into the vaccination issue,” Kickl accuses the government.
The health spokesman for the liberal Neos party, Gerald Loacker (47), said it was not enough to just define measures that would work when the country was already scratching an emergency. In addition to information campaigns, the federal government must finally send vaccination dates to the unvaccinated. By sticking to the free tests, she communicated false signals for too long.
The Director General for Public Health, Katharina Reich (43), appeased. She said on Saturday the goal was to avoid level four. They think there is still a chance to get around the corner.