The Austrian government has announced that it will set a “lockdown” for all people who have not been vaccinated from next Monday (8). As a result, those who refuse to be vaccinated will no longer have access to restaurants, nightclubs, hotels, sports activities, and cultural events.

Austrian Chancellor Alexander Shalenberg has justified the move with a sharp rise in new Kovid-19 cases in a country that has registered 9,388 infections in the past 24 hours. “When we get in the car, we wear seat belts and the anti-covid vaccine is our belt,” the politician said.

The measure stipulates that those who have not been vaccinated can leave home only in exceptional circumstances, such as buying essentials or going to work. The law does not yet include people who cannot be vaccinated, such as children under the age of 12 who do not have an approved vaccine.

This group will no longer be skiing and will no longer have access to elevators. In addition, people who have not been vaccinated cannot enter hospitals and nursing homes as visitors.

The government is mandating the use of anti-Kovid masks in stores, museums and libraries. In Austria, the vaccination campaign has been slow for some time, with only 63.1% of the population being vaccinated.

Shalenberg quoted Pope Francis as saying that vaccination is “an act of love.” Health Minister Wolfgang Mക്ckstein has called on Austrians to be vaccinated against the flu.

“We are facing a wave, we must be prepared,” he said, sharply criticizing “politicians who spread false news.”