Germany's parliament has approved mandatory vaccination for anyone working at medical facilities and care homes, where the staff now has three months to obtain their certificates.
www.rt.com
Germany enforces mandatory Covid vaccination for certain jobs
10 Dec, 2021 16:38
Get short URL
© Getty Images / Westend61
Germany's parliament has approved mandatory vaccination for anyone working at medical facilities and care homes, where the staff now has three months to obtain their certificates.
The overwhelming majority of Bundestag members – 571 – voted for a revised Infection Protection Act that introduces a vaccine mandate for certain jobs effective March 15, and temporarily authorizes dentists, pharmacists, and vets to administer vaccines.
The legislation also gives federal states the right to impose on their own, if necessary, some anti-COVID restrictions.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach explained why the new measures were necessary, calling the presence of unvaccinated staff "
absolutely unacceptable" in places where vulnerable people are being cared for.
The upper house of parliament has also given the green light to the new measures, as the situation with coronavirus across the country remains critical.
The Robert Koch Institute reported 61,288 new cases and 484 deaths on Friday. A total of 104,996 people have died of Covid in the country.
Despite these shocking numbers, the vaccination level in Germany is lower than in many other EU countries, with only 69.4% fully vaccinated.
The country's authorities have supported the idea of compulsory vaccination, with a possible deadline set for February.
Austrian theaters, restaurants, and other businesses have begun to reopen after Chancellor Karl Nehammer ended a Covid-19 lockdown, but unvaccinated people remain barred from non-essential outings.
www.rt.com
Austria ends latest lockdown only for vaxxed residents
12 Dec, 2021 18:20
Get short URL
Demonstrators jammed the streets of Vienna on Saturday to protest Covid-19 restrictions and vaccine orders. © Reuters / Lisi Niesner
Austrian theaters, restaurants, and other businesses have begun to reopen after Chancellor Karl Nehammer ended a Covid-19 lockdown, but
unvaccinated people remain barred from non-essential outings.
However, Sunday’s lockdown halt for vaccinated residents comes with some strings attached:
A national 11pm curfew is still in place for restaurants, and mask-wearing remains compulsory in indoor public spaces. Also, each of the country’s nine states can tighten restrictions based on local conditions; in fact, business reopenings won’t begin in some areas until later this month.
Nehammer announced the easing of Covid-19 rules on Wednesday, calling the move an
“opening with a seatbelt,” referring to the remaining restrictions and the ability of states to clamp down as needed. As for keeping unvaccinated citizens locked down, he said,
“There is the offer of science – that, by getting vaccinated, these troubles can be quickly put aside and that, then, common freedom can actually be lived together.”
Austria has been wracked by
protests over home confinements and vaccine orders, including a demonstration in Vienna on Saturday that police estimated was attended by 44,000 people.
Its citizens face a nationwide vaccine mandate that’s scheduled to take effect in February 2022, making it the first Western democracy to impose such a requirement.
Those who don’t comply – only about 68% of Austrians are fully vaccinated – can be fined as much as €3,600.
The country imposed a lockdown last month on unvaccinated Austrians in a move that was cheered by many who had elected to obtain a jab. However, with Covid-19 infections still rising, the order was expanded a few days later to include everyone. Governors in states such as Upper Austria and Salzburg had pressed for the wider restrictions, citing concerns that their hospitals could be overwhelmed by surging coronavirus infections.
Covid-19 deaths and hospitalizations in Austria continued to rise during the lockdown, even as new cases declined. The country’s hospitals currently have 567 Covid-19 patients in their intensive-care units, up from 514 on November 19 – the day the widened lockdown was announced.
www.zdnet.com
