Unvaccinated-Only Lockdown Extended in Austria for Another Ten Days

Austria has extended its lockdown of unjabbed individuals for another ten days, as mandatory vaccination looms.

Austria’s government extended lockdown measures solely for unvaccinated individuals this week.

The news comes after Austria pledged last month that it would make vaccination against the Chinese Coronavirus mandatory from February next year.

While the government has promised that it would keep unvaccinated individuals under lockdown forever, according to a report by Kronen Zeitung, the emergency measures can only be imposed for ten days at a time.

Austria’s Health Minister, Wolfgang Mückstein of the Green Party, has claimed that both the general lockdown which began last month, as well as the extended lockdown for the unvaccinated only, have had an effect.

Despite this though, Mückstein has asked for caution, and for the public to keep obeying social distancing rules that are still in effect.

While Austria has pledged to lockdown the unvaccinated forever, the government has granted a temporary reprieve for the unjabbed for the holidays.

Restrictions preventing unvaccinated individuals from leaving the home — bar for essential reasons — will be lifted for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, St. Stephen’s Day, as well as New Year’s Eve.

An 11pm curfew for restaurants is also to be lifted.

This reprieve will not come without limitations however, as hotels and catering will still be legally required to obtain proof of vaccination or recovery from patrons.

The decision comes as part of efforts to de-escalate tensions within the country, which has seen tens of thousands attend anti-lockdown protests since measures were announced last month.

While the government is temporarily lifting certain restrictions, some experts have claimed that the rules would have been ignored by the general population, regardless of the government’s view.

Despite this Christmas truce, unvaccinated Austrian’s remain under a system that has previously been described as “Corona Apartheid”.

Furthermore, those in the country who remain unjabbed by February next year will face hefty fines, as well as possible prison sentences.