After record illnesses were recorded across the nation, Austrians are days away from the country’s first lockdown for anyone who isn’t completely vaccinated.

If the federal government approves, the province of Upper Austria will implement limitations beginning Monday. New measures are also being considered in Salzburg.

A countrywide lockdown for the unvaccinated, according to Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, is “definitely inevitable.”

He said that two-thirds of the population should not suffer because others were hesitant.

Upper Austria, with a population of 1.5 million people and borders Germany and the Czech Republic, has the highest infection rate and the lowest vaccination rate in the country.

In the previous 24 hours, a total of 11,975 Covid-19 cases have been reported in Austria, prompting Austria’s coronavirus commission to issue a warning that the threat “must be regarded seriously.”

What Will The Lockdown Look Like?

Austria is seeing the highest daily infection rates since the epidemic began, and it is eager to avoid a vaccination lockdown.

Unvaccinated people are already barred from traveling to restaurants, theatres, ski lifts, and hair salons, but Upper Austria is set to make things even harsher.

The province is implementing a lockdown for those who have not been vaccinated.

This, according to the chancellor, means that persons who have not been vaccinated will be unable to leave the house unless it is for critical reasons such as going to work, shopping, or exercising.

Critics claim that enforcing the lockdown will be difficult.

If the number of cases rises, authorities said lockdowns for the unvaccinated may be implemented in other locations.

The far-right opposition Freedom Party has been campaigning on a vaccine skepticism agenda, which has resonated with many Austrians. According to the report, the move would result in a group of second-class people.

Austria’s seven-day incidence rate is far higher than in Germany, where Health Minister Jens Spahn recently warned of an immunization pandemic.

For the first time on Thursday, Germany registered more than 50,000 daily infections. Germany’s immunization rate of 67.3 percent is somewhat higher than Austria’s, but not by much.

A “2G” law limiting access to persons who have been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid would effectively prevent unvaccinated people from restaurants, hotels, cinemas, and theaters in the state of Brandenburg starting Monday.

The Netherlands is likewise experiencing an increase in cases and hospital admissions, with a daily infection rate of 16,364 revealed on Thursday.

Later on Friday, the caretaker Dutch government is set to declare Western Europe’s first partial winter shutdown.

According to reports, limitations would be tightened for three weeks, with non-essential enterprises, cafés, restaurants, and hotels obliged to close at 19:00. According to reports, public sporting activities, such as professional football, would take place behind closed doors.