Covid in Austria: Austria returns to partial lockdown after violent protests. (File)
Vienna, Austria:
Austria returns to partial lockdown in the most dramatic Covid-19 restrictions seen in Western Europe in months after violence against virus measures over the weekend rocked several cities on this continent.
The Alpine nation is also imposing a sweeping vaccine mandate from February 1, one of the few places in the world to announce such a step to date.
Shops, restaurants and festive markets were closed on Monday, while 8.9 million people were not allowed to leave their homes with some exceptions such as commuting to work, shopping for essentials and exercising. as cases of the virus are increasing.
Schools and daycares remain open, although parents have been asked to keep children at home when possible despite no distance learning being offered during the three-week lockdown.
One parent, Kathrin Pauser, said she still takes her nine- and 11-year-old daughters to school.
“It’s a very confusing situation,” she told AFP.
‘The dictatorship’
The measures come after a weekend of violent clashes in several European cities – including Belgium and the Netherlands – where tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets to protest against the measures. measures of Covid.
Some 145 people have been arrested in the Netherlands during three days of unrest caused by the Covid curfew, and in Brussels on Sunday, police officers fired water cannons and tear gas at a protest that police say know there are 35,000 people in attendance.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday criticized “violence under the guise of protest”, saying he defends the right to protest peacefully, but “will never accept that fools use violence”. pure force”.
And in Denmark this weekend, around 1,000 people protested against the government’s plan to reinstate Covid cards for civil servants.
One of the organizers of the protests in the Netherlands, Joost Eras, said. “That’s why we’re here.”
A crowd of 40,000 marched through Vienna on Saturday to decry the “dictatorship”, while around 6,000 people demonstrated in the city of Linz on Sunday.
The Vienna rally was organized by a far-right political party, and some protesters wore a yellow star that read “not vaccinated”, mimicking the Star of Nazi Germany David forced Jews must be worn during the Holocaust.
French troops headed to Guadeloupe on Sunday after a week of uncertainty over Covid measures, while Prime Minister Jean Castex prepared to convene a meeting in Paris with officials from the French Caribbean island.
Roads were blocked off Sunday after protesters defying a curfew looted and burned shops and pharmacies overnight, as police made 38 arrests and two members of the force security forces were injured.
‘Vaccinated, cured or dead’
The violence occurred as the Covid contagion was taking place in Europe.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn launched a new call on Monday for people to get vaccinated.
“It is possible that by the end of this winter, as it is sometimes skeptically said, quite a few people in Germany will be vaccinated, cured or die,” Spahn said.
Austria’s decision confronts earlier promises that tough virus restrictions will be a thing of the past.
In the summer, then-prime minister Sebastian Kurz declared the pandemic “over”.
But high vaccination rates, record cases and rising deaths have forced the government to back down from such bold claims.
After taking office in October, Prime Minister Alexander Schallenberg criticized vaccine rates as “shamefully low” – 66% compared to 75% in France – and banned those who were not vaccinated from entering space. public.
When that proved ineffective at killing new infections, he announced a nationwide shutdown, with a review after 10 days.
Political analyst Thomas Hofer blames Schallenberg for perpetuating a “fictional” about a pandemic that has long been successful.
“The government has not taken warnings of a next wave seriously,” he told AFP.
“The chaos is obvious.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the feed provided.)
