«The die has been cast in Austria. The government is preparing a bill that would impose a fine of up to €600 every three months for those who do not get vaccinated against Covid-19 from February 1, 2022.
Exceptions will apply to those under the age of 14, pregnant women, people who have recovered from COVID-19 up to six months after testing positive, and those who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons.
The fine could be as high as €3,600. per vaccine dose to be scheduled by the competent authorities and not administered.
All permanent residents of Austria who have not been vaccinated will begin receiving invitations for vaccination from February 15, with specific dates for their appointments, while fines will begin to be imposed from March 15.
There should be an interval of 14-42 days between the first and second doses, while the third dose should be administered 120-270 days after the second. By the same rule, 28,423 vaccination certificates in Austria are now invalid, as their validity period was originally set at 360 days, but has now been reduced to 270.
Austria has been in a state of emergency since mid-November. universal lockdown, which is scheduled to last until Sunday, December 12.
The country's ski resorts are currently only open to vaccinated and recovered individuals, but it is not possible to stay overnight in a hotel or visit a restaurant.
At the end of the week, the federal government and the states will have to agree on lifting restrictions and the measures that will follow.According to the Austrian newspaper Der Standard, even after the lockdown ends, not all areas of public life are expected to function equally.
«It is not possible to unlock everything overnight,» warned Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens).
The state of Upper Austria has already announced that it will extend the lockdown by at least one week, while the Prime Minister of Styria, Hermann Suzenhofer, has stated that strict rules may be imposed on retail trade and has expressed considerable caution regarding the operation of the economy. Herman Sutschenhofer, has stated that strict rules may be imposed on retail trade and has been very cautious about the operation of restaurants.
Over the past two weeks, the number of cases has decreased, but remains high. On Sunday, 5,192 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 were recorded. There are 3,029 patients with Covid-19 in hospitals, 651 of whom are in intensive care units.
