Chancellor awaits parliament’s approval to list people who are not immune to Covid-19

Austria could soon confine people who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19. Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced on Friday, November 12, that he is waiting for the green light from Parliament on Sunday to implement this measure, which will also take care of unrecovered Covid-19 patients. Faced with the rapid increase in cases, the country has been striving for several weeks to improve the vaccination rate: only 67% of the population received at least one injection and 64% received both doses (versus a European average of 67%). Alexander Schallenberg did not specify the date of entry into force of the measure.

“The goal is clear: We want to give the green light for national containment of non-vaccinated people on Sunday.”

Alexander Schallenberg, Austrian Chancellor

in front of the press

The regional state of Upper Austria and the city of Salzburg, which has seen some of the highest levels of pollution, have already started this containment from Monday. For the measure to be implemented across the country, it will need the approval of Parliament and the meeting of heads of regional governments over the weekend. The Minister of Health, Wolfgang Mikstein, has also announced that he will order the compulsory vaccination of health workers.

Austria, a highly touristic Alpine country, fears that it will be put back on the “red” list of destinations where the spread of the virus is observed, as winter begins. The city of Vienna had already banned the access of unvaccinated or antibody-free people to restaurants and hairdressers, in order to stem a new wave of Covid-19 contamination.