NEWS
Austria Orders Nationwide Lockdown for Unvaccinated Residents
Source: State Dept via Pinterest
Amid rising infections and deaths, Austria has ordered a nationwide lockdown for all residents who haven’t received the COVID-19 vaccine.
According to the Associated Press, the current infection rate in Austria stands at 775 new cases per 100,000 residents with the rate rising quickly in the unvaccinated.
“It’s our job as the government of Austria to protect the people,” Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said in a statement reported by the AP. “Therefore we decided that starting Monday…there will be a lockdown for the unvaccinated.”
The lockdown began on Sunday, November 14 and prohibits unvaccinated people aged 12 and over from leaving their homes except for essential activities. The Associated Press reports the lockdown will initially last for 10 days and will affect some 2 million of the country’s 8.9 million population.
Travelers from the United States are still able to visit Austria without the need to quarantine provided they present a CDC-issued vaccination certificate showing they received their second shot no more than 360 days prior to travel to the country, or have recovered from COVID-19 in the past 180 days. For travelers who received the one dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, they must show they received no more than 270 days prior to arrival in Austria. Unvaccinated travelers will need to pre-register, present a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival, and must quarantine for 10 days.
