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Rabat – As Europe faces the fifth wave of COVID-19 infections, Austrian authorities announced the lockdown in the region of Salzburg and Upper Austria to strengthen healthcare measures and curb the number of infections.
Austria is the first European country to make vaccination mandatory, starting from February 2022, to face the unprecedented increase in cases of infections.
With a population of 8.9 million, Austria records about 12,000 infections daily. Authorities decided on November 19 to officially implement a general lockdown starting from Monday, November 22.
Infection cases in Salzburg region currently exceed 1,700 cases per 100,000 inhabitants while Upper Austria records 1,600 per 100,000 inhabitants according to the Austrian media outlet Der Standard.
Last week, Austria introduced a nationwide lockdown for its unvaccinated citizens. Approximately two million people are not allowed to leave their homes except for grocery shopping, sports or medical care.
Those unvaccinated people who work are required to present a negative COVID-19 test.
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In recent weeks, Europe saw another harsh wave of infections spread across the continent. The latest updates indicate that various European countries such as Italy, Ukraine, and Austria have introduced new sets of restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.
The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, announced on November 12, a partial lockdown of the country for a minimum period of three weeks.
Rutte’s announcement came after a sudden rise in the number of infections in the country. The Netherlands recorded 16,364 new cases on November 11.
The vaccination rate in the Netherlands is 71.2%, slightly lower than in France. According to figures from the government of the Netherlands, 69% of people admitted to intensive care are not vaccinated.
