Austria: Salzburg and Upper Austria announce lockdown for everyone
Salzburg and Upper Austria announce lockdown for everyone
The number of new infections reached a record again on Thursday in Austria at 15,145. Now regions are reacting and temporarily sending people who have been vaccinated back to their homes.
D.ie two Austrian regions with the highest corona numbers will go into a general lockdown next week. This will be announced by the Prime Ministers of Salzburg and Upper Austria, Wilfried Haslauer and Thomas Stelzer, on Thursday. The conservative state chiefs, like Chancellor and ÖVP party colleague Alexander Schallenberg, had previously spoken out against severe restrictions on those who had been vaccinated.
“We don’t have much leeway, not to say: We have very, very little leeway,” argued Stelzer on Thursday in Linz in relation to the full hospitals. The politician spoke out in favor of a uniform approach throughout Austria. If that were not possible, the regional measures would definitely come into force for several weeks. “
We see no alternative to a lockdown beginning next week, ”Haslauer told the APA news agency. Details about the restrictions in the two federal states on the Bavarian border should be announced during the day.
On Thursday, the number of new infections within 24 hours in Austria reached a record of 15,145. Almost 40 percent of the new cases were registered in Upper Austria and Salzburg. With seven-day incidences around 1600, the two regions are well above the value of 989.
Further corona talks between the federal and state governments
A lockdown for unvaccinated people has been gilded throughout Austria since Monday. Whether additional nationwide measures will be taken for the entire population will be decided in talks between the federal and state governments on Friday.
Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) had recently spoken out in favor of a general nocturnal exit restriction, which has so far been rejected by Chancellor Schallenberg. The ÖVP fears that such measures will reduce the willingness for first and booster vaccinations again. However, a general vaccination requirement is being considered within the government.
The social democratic opposition leader and epidemiologist Pamela Rendi-Wagner called on Thursday for a nationwide lockdown for at least two weeks if the situation does not defuse within 48 hours. Compulsory vaccination could not break the current wave of infections, but it could last longer. So you have to think about it.