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Austria Announces New COVID Lockdown That Only Applies to ‘Dithering’ Vaccine Holdouts

The province of Upper Austria—which has the lowest vaccine take-up—has announced the move.

Millions of Austrians who have decided not to take a coronavirus vaccine are going to be locked down to help squash a spike in case numbers. The province of Upper Austria—which has the lowest vaccine take-up and the highest infection rate of the nation’s nine provinces—has reportedly announced a lockdown for the unvaccinated from Monday next week. In his announcement, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said: “I don’t see why two-thirds should lose their freedom because one-third is dithering... A lockdown for the unvaccinated means one cannot leave one’s home unless one is going to work, shopping [for essentials], stretching one’s legs... Exactly what we all had to suffer through in 2020.” However, according to The Guardian, Schallenberg said the targeted lockdown would first need to get the go-ahead from the federal government.