Roughly two-thirds of those eligible in Austria are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, one of the lowest rates in western Europe. Party leader Herbert Kickl posted a picture on Facebook with the inscription: "As of today Austria is a dictatorship." The party is planning a protest on Saturday, but Kickl cannot attend because he has tested positive for COVID-19. Both decisions infuriated many in a country where scepticism about state mandates affecting individual freedoms runs high, encouraged by the far-right Freedom Party, the third biggest in parliament. A fourth wave of infections has plunged Germany, Europe's largest economy, into a national emergency, Health Minister Jens Spahn said, warning that vaccinations alone will not cut case numbers.Īustria said it in addition to lockdown it would require the whole population to be vaccinated from Feb. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reportedly planning to introduce a controversial new law banning protests that are noisy or cause "serious annoyance," and would carry a maximum jail term of 10 years.VIENNA/BERLIN, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Austria will become the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full COVID-19 lockdown, it said on Friday as neighbouring Germany warned it may follow suit, sending shivers through financial markets worried about the economic fallout.Įurope has again become the epicentre of the pandemic, accounting for half of global cases and deaths. Police are under scrutiny for their alleged heavy-handed tactics in breaking up a well-attended outdoor vigil for Everard last Saturday that ignited three nights of protests.Ī spokeswoman for the interior ministry told Reuters, "While we are still in a pandemic we continue to urge people to avoid mass gatherings, in line with wider coronavirus restrictions." Her body was found a week later, and a serving police officer has been charged with her murder. The outcry over lockdowns has combined with a groundswell of rage at the abduction and death of Sarah Everard, a 33-year old woman who went missing earlier this month while walking home. But the measures came under direct assault this week. Due to coronavirus restrictions, it's currently unlawful for groups to gather for the purpose of protest. The protests came the same day as 60 members of parliament urged the home secretary to ease restrictions on demonstrations. London Metropolitan Police said 36 people had been arrested during the rallies, most of them involving violations of COVID-19 regulations. The BBC reported that few protesters appeared to be wearing masks. In Hyde Park, police were forced back into their vans as demonstrators lobbed bottles and cans at them. Protesters held placards that read, "Fear Westmonster, not the virus, and "Stop destroying Our kids' lives" as they marched through central London - along Oxford Street, the Embankment and Parliament Square before heading up to Whitehall. and the U.K.īritain's speedy vaccine rollout - it was the first in the world to administer a fully tested vaccine - has been a surprise success for the government of Boris Johnson, who has received heavy criticism for his response to the virus.īut it didn't stop thousands of people attending anti-lockdown demonstrations in London on Saturday. Just 8.5% of Germans received their first shot, as of Friday, far behind other nations including the U.S. NPR's Rob Schmidt reported that "at the start of the pandemic Germany was a global model for how to manage it." But a year into it, the opposite appears to the case. "The motto is 'vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate'," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a meeting with the leaders of the country's 16 states. The suspension of AstraZeneca vaccine was the latest hurdle in Germany's efforts to vaccinate its population of 83 million.Īfter a three-day pause in using AstraZeneca, Germany is now trying to right the course. Experts say it highlights the need to accelerate vaccinations.īut a botched vaccine rollout appears to have deepened distrust against the German government. Germany faces a surge of COVID-19 infections as a more contagious variant of the virus has spread. Protests against government measures to rein in the pandemic were also reported in Austria, Britain, Finland, Romania and Switzerland. German police used water cannons, pepper spray and clubs on protesters rallying over the coronavirus lockdown in the town of Kassel in central Germany where demonstrators numbered some 20,000. Anger at restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic swept into the streets of Europe on Saturday.
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