"COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis" 12th Nov 2021
Lockdown Exit
Unvaccinated should reflect on their duty to society, Merkel says
People who are still not vaccinated as the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic takes hold in Germany must understand they have a duty to the rest of society to protect others, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday.
Austrian Covid Hotspot to Impose Lockdown for Unvaccinated
The Austrian region with the highest coronavirus infection rate plans to impose a lockdown for unvaccinated people, as worsening outbreaks force authorities across central Europe to seek stronger incentives to get inoculated. Upper Austrians who haven’t taken the vaccine will only be allowed to leave home for work and to buy everyday goods from Monday, several newspapers said Thursday, citing state leader Thomas Stelzer. The national Covid task force has also recommended a similar measure for Salzburg.
Dutch experts recommend Western Europe's first lockdown since summer
An advisory panel of pandemic experts in the Netherlands recommended on Thursday imposing western Europe's first partial lockdown since the summer, putting pressure on the government to take drastic and unpopular action to fight a COVID-19 surge. Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte's cabinet is expected to take a decision on Friday on new measures following the recommendation of the Outbreak Management Team, a panel of experts, broadcaster NOS reported.
Among measures under consideration are the cancellation of events, closing theatres and cinemas, and earlier closing times for cafes and restaurants, the NOS report said. Schools would remain open.
Covid: Austrians heading towards lockdown for unvaccinated
Austrians are days away from a first lockdown for anyone not fully vaccinated, after record infections were reported across the country. Upper Austria province will impose restrictions from Monday if it gets the go-ahead from the federal government. Salzburg also plans new measures. Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said a national lockdown for the unvaccinated was "probably inevitable". Two-thirds of people should not suffer because others were hesitant, he said. Upper Austria, which borders Germany and the Czech Republic and has a population of 1.5 million, has the country's highest level of infection and the lowest vaccination rate.
Taiwanese families say COVID-19 deaths didn't have to happen
It is at lunchtime that Nancy Chen misses her father the most. For 30 years, she ate every day with her parents at their apartment. Her father, despite being partially impaired by a stroke, would buy her a box lunch with cod. If she were 15 minutes late, he would worry and ask if she was working too hard. For the first year and a half of the coronavirus pandemic, it seemed that Taiwan would remain largely unscathed by the devastation playing out elsewhere. Aside from near-universal mask wearing, people went about their lives as normal. But Taiwan was caught off guard when the virus came. The health system couldn't handle the number of COVID tests needed and doctors lacked the right medications. The death toll rose quickly from just 12 to more than 800.
Malaysia to reopen to international visitors by Jan. 1 - govt council
Malaysia will reopen its borders to international visitors by Jan. 1 at the latest, a government advisory council said on Thursday, as the country seeks to revive its ailing tourism sector. The Southeast Asian country has gradually reopened its economy in recent weeks as coronavirus infection rates have slowed amid a ramped-up vaccination programme. More than three-quarters of Malaysia's 32 million population are vaccinated, government statistics show.
Diabetes problem makes Africa more vulernable to COVID-19 death, says WHO
Death rates from COVID-19 infections are much higher in patients with diabetes in Africa, where the number of people with diabetes is growing rapidly, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. A WHO analysis of data from 13 African countries found a 10.2% case fatality rate in COVID-19 patients with diabetes, compared with 2.5% for COVID-19 patients overall. "COVID-19 is delivering a clear message: fighting the diabetes epidemic in Africa is in many ways as critical as the battle against the current pandemic," said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, in a statement.
Exit Strategies
Unified approach needed to deal with COVID-19, says AirAsia Group CEO
Governments around the world need to look at unified approaches to managing COVID-19, the Group Chief Executive of Malaysian budget airline AirAsia Group Bhd Tony Fernandes said at the APEC CEO Summit. Fernandes said leaders in the Asia-Pacific region were being "over-sensitive" with COVID-19 and needed to be braver and more standardised in dealing with the pandemic.
Covid-19 vaccine brings hope for refugees in Uganda’s remote north
On the streets of Bidi Bidi refugee camp in Uganda, the wheels of a boda boda motorcycle taxi stir up red dust as the driver manoeuvres slowly through the settlement, music blaring from a loudspeaker strapped to the back of his bike.
The driver is a mobile messenger with the speaker broadcasting information about the Covid-19 vaccine, intended to persuade the camp’s residents to get the jab. Home to around a quarter of a million refugees from South Sudan, Bidi Bidi settlement in northern Uganda is one of the world’s largest refugee camps.
How long will Covid-19 masking rules last?
Atlanta's mayor declared the city a "green zone" and said dropping Covid-19 cases allowed her to follow the science and lift the city's mask rule. Florida school districts Miami-Dade and Broward -- which both stood up to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and risked losing state funding to implement mask rules to protect students this fall -- are going mask-optional. Pennsylvania's Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday that he would lift a statewide mask rule for students in January. On Wednesday, a state court hurried things along, striking down the rule and lifting it immediately, although Wolf's administration can appeal.
Fewer than 1 mln U.S. kids get COVID-19 shot in first eligible week, White House projects
More than 900,000 U.S. children aged 5 to 11 are expected to have received their first COVID-19 shot by the end of Wednesday, the White House said, as the government ramped up vaccinations of younger children. The United States began administering Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11 on Nov. 3, the latest group to become eligible for the shots that provide protection against the illness to recipients and those around them.
Denmark to impose COVID-19 isolation for travellers from Singapore
Denmark will impose self-isolation requirements on travellers from Singapore, its embassy in the city-state said on Thursday, following a surge in COVID-19 infections. Singapore was removed this week from a European Union list of non-EU countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted. "Singapore is now considered a high risk country for travel to Europe," the embassy of Denmark in Singapore posted on Facebook.
Ukraine to impose mandatory COVID-19 shots for doctors, municipal workers
Ukraine's health ministry has proposed expanding the list of occupations for which COVID-19 vaccinations will be compulsory to cover medical personnel and municipal employees, it said on Thursday. The government already obliges teachers and employees of state institutions and local governments to receive vaccinations, without which they face being suspended from work. The new list of roles that will require vaccination will include medical staff, municipal workers and employees of municipal companies, health minister Viktor Lyashko said.
Nepal to vaccinate all adults by mid-April: Health minister
Nepal will obtain enough vaccines to immunise all adults against COVID-19 by mid-April and is focusing on getting doses into remote mountainous areas of the Himalayan nation, says the health minister. The government will hire workers and set up vaccination centres to meet the target, Health Minister Birod Khatiwada told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday. “We are going to meet our target or even exceed our goal because we are already getting enough vaccines,” said Khatiwada, who was appointed last month. “We are going to hire more health workers so they are able to reach all remote corners of the country and set up new vaccine centres to reach all the population.” Nepal’s immunisation campaign began in January with vaccines donated by neighbouring India but stalled when India faced a devastating surge of COVID-19 and halted vaccine exports.
PNG caught between COVID and vaccine
International concerns are mounting as COVID-19 continues to sweep through unvaccinated Papua New Guinea (PNG) where, according to Our World in Data website, only 1.7 percent of its population has been fully vaccinated. The vaccination rate remains abysmally low, despite adequate vaccine supplies and aid from the Australian government and international organisations such as the Red Cross. The slow take up has been in part due to poor government messaging and the proliferation of misinformation on social media via mobile phones. “There is a lot of misinformation around circulating largely from social media,” Jane Holden, Western Highlands Provincial Health Authority acting CEO, told Al Jazeera.
Partisan Exits
LAPD Union's Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate Challenge Rejected by Judge
The union representing Los Angeles Police Department officers failed to win a court order blocking a mandate that all city workers be vaccinated against Covid-19. California Superior Court Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff on Wednesday denied the union’s request for a temporary restraining order on the mandate, which sets a Dec. 18 deadline for vaccination. The judge didn’t give a reason for denying the union’s request for a temporary restraining order. The union will get another shot at blocking the mandate at a Dec. 12 hearing before Beckloff on its request for preliminary injunction. A group of LAPD officers was also previously denied a restraining order in federal court.
Judge rules Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's ban on school mask mandates violates federal law
A federal judge in Texas ruled Wednesday that Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order banning mask mandates in schools violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, setting the stage for school districts in the state to decide whether they want to impose mask rules. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel wrote in a 29-page ruling that the ADA, a federal law enacted in 1990, supersedes Abbott's July order banning facial coverings in schools.
Judge overrules Texas governor's ban on mask mandates in schools
A federal judge overruled Texas Governor Greg Abbott's ban on mask mandates in schools, clearing the path for districts to issue their own rules. Judge Lee Yeakel of U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled the governor's order violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, a landmark 1990 federal law that includes protections for students with special needs. In his ruling, Yeakel said the executive order put children with disabilities at risk. "The spread of COVID-19 poses an even greater risk for children with special health needs," the judge said in the order. "Children with certain underlying conditions who contract COVID-19 are more likely to experience severe acute biological effects and to require admission to a hospital and the hospital's intensive-care unit."
Thousands of care home staff to lose their jobs as mandatory COVID-19 vaccine deadline passes
As of Friday, all care home workers in England must have been double jabbed, unless they are medically exempt, and the latest NHS figures show more than 60,000 staff have not been recorded as fully vaccinated as of 31 October.
Ten states sue Biden administration over COVID-19 vaccine mandate for U.S. health workers
Ten Republican state attorneys general sued on Wednesday to stop the Biden administration's requirement that millions of U.S. health workers get vaccinated against the coronavirus, saying it would worsen staff shortages. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, said last Thursday he will enforce the mandate starting Jan. 4.
The attorneys general of Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and New Hampshire jointly filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in St. Louis.
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine patent dispute headed to court, U.S. NIH head says
U.S. National Institutes of Health scientists played "a major role" in developing Moderna Inc's (MRNA.O) COVID-19 vaccine and the agency intends to defend its claim as co-owner of patents on the shot, NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins told Reuters on Wednesday. In a story first reported by the New York Times on Tuesday, Moderna excluded three NIH scientists as co-inventors of a central patent for the company's multibillion-dollar COVID-19 vaccine in its application filed in July.
Scientific Viewpoint
Covid Pills May Save Lives, But They Won’t End the Pandemic
The promise of new Covid-19 pills from Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. gives rise to the hopeful question: Is this how the pandemic ends? The best answer anyone can muster is “maybe.” No matter how effective the antiviral pills are, it will be months before we can say we’re near the end. The pills have been shown in studies to substantially reduce the chances that a high-risk, unvaccinated person with Covid will need hospitalization. The results rightly raised hopes. Pfizer’s drug was 89% effective, and Merck’s succeeded in about 50% of patients—potentially powerful scientific breakthroughs
EU regulator backs COVID-19 drugs from Regeneron-Roche, Celltrion
Europe's drug regulator has recommended two COVID-19 antibody therapies - one from American-Swiss partners Regeneron-Roche and another from South Korea's Celltrion, as the region builds up its defence against surging cases. Approval by the European Commission would mark the first for any COVID-19 treatment on the continent since Gilead's remdesivir last year. Reuters reported earlier this week that the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) endorsement of the two drugs was imminent.
EU regulator endorses COVID-19 drugs from Regeneron-Roche, Celltrion
Europe's drug regulator has recommended two COVID-19 antibody therapies - one from American-Swiss partners Regeneron-Roche and another from South Korea's Celltrion, as the region builds up its defence against surging cases. Approval by the European Commission would mark the first for any COVID-19 treatment on the continent since Gilead's remdesivir last year. Reuters reported earlier this week that the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) endorsement of the two drugs was imminent
India could approve Covid pill in matter of days
Antiviral drug Molnupiravir, used for treating mild to moderate Covid-19 infections, is set to enter the Indian markets within days, an official confirmed on Wednesday.
Manufactured by US drug companies Merck, Sharp and Dohme, Molnupiravir is among the first proven drugs to effectively treat the viral contagion and was originally developed to treat flu. It can be taken as a pill instead of injection or intravenous administration. It could likely enter the Indian pharmaceutical markets “within days” after receiving Emergency Use Authorisation, Dr Ram Vishwakarma,
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine patent dispute headed to court, U.S. NIH head says
U.S. National Institutes of Health scientists played "a major role" in developing Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine and the agency intends to defend its claim as co-owner of patents on the shot, NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins told Reuters on Wednesday. In a story first reported by the New York Times on Tuesday, Moderna excluded three NIH scientists as co-inventors of a central patent for the company's multibillion-dollar COVID-19 vaccine in its application filed in July.
Moderna applies for COVID-19 booster shot approval from Japan's health ministry -NHK
Moderna Inc applied for approval from Japan's health ministry on Wednesday to use their COVID-19 vaccines for booster shots, broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday. Japan plans to start administering booster shots from December this year, and has already approved the use of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for a third round of vaccinations on Thursday. If approved, Moderna's vaccine would become the second to be approved for booster shots in Japan.
Ellume's COVID-19 home test recall most serious, FDA says
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration classified the recall of Ellume's over-the-counter COVID-19 home test as Class 1, the most serious type of recall, after the Australian diagnostic test maker removed some of its tests from the market last month. Ellume had cited higher-than-acceptable false positive test results for SARS-CoV-2 as the reason for the recall. A 'false positive' indicates that a person has the virus when they actually do not.
UK researchers identify T-cell targets for future COVID vaccines
British researchers said on Wednesday they had identified proteins in the coronavirus that are recognised by T-cells of people who are exposed to the virus but resist infection, possibly providing a new target for vaccine developers. Immunity against COVID-19 is a complex picture, and while there is evidence of waning antibody levels six months after vaccination, T-cells are also believed to play a vital role in providing protection. The University College London (UCL) researchers examined 731 health workers in two London hospitals during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and found that many had not tested positive despite likely exposure to the original coronavirus.
Moderna offers COVID-19 shot at $7 to African Union - Africa CDC head
Moderna Inc has offered to sell its COVID-19 vaccines to the African Union at $7 a shot, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control John Nkengasong said on Thursday, half the price paid by the United States earlier in the year. It is also a substantial discount to what other buyers like the European Union have agreed this year, part of a broader trend for drugmakers to sell at lower prices to lower income countries. "I am happy to say that a dose of the Moderna vaccine will be $7. That is what is being offered to us," Nkengasong told a weekly virtual media briefing.
Israel pandemic advisory panel backs COVID vaccine for young children
Israel's pandemic advisory board on Wednesday backed administering Pfizer's and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine to children age 5-11, health officials said, as a fourth wave of infections subsides nationwide. The Health Ministry is widely expected to accept the panel's recommendation and begin rolling out the shots this month. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization of the vaccine for the age group at a 10-microgram dose.
Diabetes problem makes Africa more vulernable to COVID-19 death, says WHO
Death rates from COVID-19 infections are much higher in patients with diabetes in Africa, where the number of people with diabetes is growing rapidly, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. A WHO analysis of data from 13 African countries found a 10.2% case fatality rate in COVID-19 patients with diabetes, compared with 2.5% for COVID-19 patients overall. "COVID-19 is delivering a clear message: fighting the diabetes epidemic in Africa is in many ways as critical as the battle against the current pandemic," said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, in a statement.
Sleep apnea linked to COVID-19 outcomes
Sleep apnea tied to severe COVID-19 - The risk of severe illness from COVID-19 is higher in people with obstructive sleep apnea and other breathing problems that cause oxygen levels to drop during sleep, researchers say. They tracked 5,402 adults with these problems and found that roughly a third of them eventually tested posted for the coronavirus. While periodic episodes of not-breathing while asleep - leading to low oxygen levels, or hypoxia - did not increase people's chances of being infected, sleep-related hypoxia did increase infected patients' odds of needing to be hospitalized or dying from COVID-19, Drs. Cinthya Pena Orbea and Reena Mehra of the Cleveland Clinic and colleagues reported on Wednesday in JAMA Network Open. It is not clear if treatments that improve sleep apnea, such as CPAP machines that push air into patients' airways during sleep, would also reduce the risk of severe COVID-19, said Pena Orbea and Mehra.
EU authorizes 2 medicines for people at risk of severe COVID
The European Medicines Agency has recommended the authorization of two new medicines against the coronavirus for people at risk of severe disease. In a statement on Thursday, the EU drug regulator said it had concluded that the monoclonal antibody treatments — a combination of casirivimab and imdevimab, and the drug regdanvimab — have both been proven to significantly reduce the risk of hospitalization and death in patients vulnerable to serious COVID-19. The EMA described the safety profile of both medicines as “favorable,” and said that despite a small number of side effects, “the medicines’ benefits are greater than their risks.” The drug combination of casirivimab and imdevimab is made by Roche; it was granted an emergency use license by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last November.
Merck inks yet another $1B-plus supply deal for COVID pill, this time with Japan
Merck & Co.'s positive data for oral COVID-19 antiviral molnupiravir continue to pay off in a big way. Wednesday, just a day after unveiling a $1 billion sale order to the U.S., the company disclosed another major supply deal. Japan has agreed to pay Merck and partner Ridgeback Therapeutics $1.2 billion for 1.6 million courses of the drug, or $750 per course. The deal is contingent on the antiviral winning an authorization or approval from Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency. The deal comes a day after Merck said the U.S. government agreed to purchase another 1.4 million courses of the drug for $1 billion. Together with an earlier purchase, the order brings the United States' total supply purchase to 3.1 million courses at a cost of $2.2 billion.
Coronavirus Resurgence
India's Covaxin 77.8% Effective Against Covid in Lancet Study
Covaxin, a vaccine developed by India’s government medical research agency and Bharat Biotech International Ltd., was found to have a 77.8% efficacy rate against symptomatic Covid-19 in a long-awaited analysis published in The Lancet. Covaxin, which uses traditional, inactivated-virus technology, “induces a robust antibody response” two weeks after two doses are given, The Lancet said in a statement. No severe-vaccine-related deaths or adverse events were recorded during a randomized trial involving 24,419 participants aged 18-97 years between Nov. 2020 and May 2021 in India, the medical journal said.
Covid-19: Berlin brings in tough new rules as cases soar
Authorities in Berlin will reimpose tighter coronavirus restrictions, which will deny unvaccinated people access to indoor restaurants, bars, gyms and hairdressers.
The city-wide rules, known as ‘2G’ in Germany, will only allow doubled jabbed residents or those who have proof they have immunity from coronavirus, to access indoor facilities and venues. In comes in a bid to curb “the rising number of coronavirus cases and the increasing pressure on intensive care units”, Berlin’s senate said on Wednesday evening.
Germany was a Covid 'poster child.' Now it's seeing 50,000 cases a day, prompting a dramatic warning
Germany was once seen as a prime example of how to deal with the coronavirus. Now, it’s recording close to 50,000 new Covid cases a day, prompting a dire warning of a dramatic rise in fatalities from one expert. Germany is in the midst of what has been described as a fourth wave of Covid, as the delta variant spreads as the weather gets colder. Thursday marks the fourth day in a row that it has posted a fresh daily high, Reuters noted, with the number of new cases coming in at 50,196. Data from the country’s public health body, the Robert Koch Institute, showed that Germany’s total number of cases has now hit 4.89 million and that the number of fatalities stands at 97,198.
Chinese city Dalian halts frozen food trade after COVID-19 cases
Chinese port city Dalian has ordered all businesses handling imported chilled and frozen foods to suspend operations after an outbreak of COVID-19 that began last week. The city on China's northeast coast has reported more than 80 COVID-19 cases over the past week, with the first in a warehouse worker in the Zhuanghe area of the city on Nov. 4. Local authorities issued the order on Monday, state-backed newspaper Global Times reported on Thursday.
Canada's new COVID-19 epicenters are more remote, less vaccinated and less resourced
Canada's coronavirus epicenters are shifting from dense urban zones to more rural or remote areas that have lower vaccination rates and fewer public health resources. Some of those areas were spared in earlier waves of the pandemic and are now forced to contend with a widely spreading virulent strain of the coronavirus with fewer options at their disposal to deal with the surge. Canada has high overall vaccination rates but pockets of hesitancy allow the virus to spread.
Russia's COVID deaths hit new daily peak, some hospitals run low on oxygen
Russia on Wednesday reported a record 1,239 deaths from COVID-19 in the previous 24 hours, two days after most of its regions emerged from a week-long workplace shutdown designed to curb the spread of the virus. "For now we cannot say with confidence that the situation has stabilised and the infection rate is declining," Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova told a government meeting. Her assessment was markedly more downbeat than that of Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, who had said on Tuesday that the nationwide "non-working days" from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7 had turned the tide in Russia's fight against the pandemic.
Israeli 'wargame' sees kids suffering vaccine-resistant COVID strain
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and senior aides holed up in a nuclear command bunker on Thursday to simulate an outbreak of a vaccine-resistant COVID-19 variant to which children are vulnerable, describing such an eventuality as "the next war". Israel would brief foreign leaders next week on the findings of the drill, he said, citing Britain's Boris Johnson as among counterparts with whom he is in contact. Bennett said that, to enhance the challenge of the one-day exercise, he had been kept unaware of specific scenarios of an imagined 10-week crisis that starts over the December holidays.
Britain reports 42408 new COVID cases, 195 deaths
Britain on Thursday reported 42,408 new COVID-19 cases and a further 195 deaths from the disease, government figures showed on Thursday. Reported cases have now risen for four days in a row, but cases over the last seven days are down 12% compared to the previous seven.
German parliament debates new COVID-19 rules as cases soar
Germany's likely new chancellor Olaf Scholz urged more citizens to get vaccinated against COVID-19 on Thursday as the parliament debated new rules to tackle a fourth wave of infections without imposing lockdowns or making shots mandatory for anyone. The three parties negotiating to form Germany's new government have agreed to let a state of emergency in place since the start of the pandemic expire on Nov. 25, despite record new cases as colder weather and more indoor gatherings turn Europe once more into a coronavirus hotspot.
Canada's new COVID-19 epicenters are more remote, less vaccinated and less resourced
Canada's coronavirus epicenters are shifting from dense urban zones to more rural or remote areas that have lower vaccination rates and fewer public health resources. Some of those areas were spared in earlier waves of the pandemic and are now forced to contend with a widely spreading virulent strain of the coronavirus with fewer options at their disposal to deal with the surge. Canada has high overall vaccination rates but pockets of hesitancy allow the virus to spread. In Ontario, Canada's most-populous province, the Sudbury health region about 250 miles (400 km) north of Toronto has tightened restrictions.
New Lockdown
Beijing city imposes COVID restrictions on conferences, events
Authorities in Beijing city imposed new curbs on conferences and events after confirming on Thursday six locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, including individuals who had attended conferences in person in the city. Beijing city has reported fewer than 50 COVID-19 local symptomatic infections in the current outbreak that led to over 1,000 local cases since mid-October, but has taken tough measures to block potential routes of further transmission under China's zero-tolerance policy. The city is also the host of the Winter Olympics in February.
Dutch consider new partial lockdown as coronavirus cases hit record
The Dutch government on Thursday was considering whether to impose Western Europe's first partial lockdown since the summer, as new coronavirus cases jumped to the highest level since the start of the pandemic. A surge in infections that started when social distancing measures were lifted late September has put pressure on hospitals throughout the country, forcing them to scale back regular care to treat COVID-19 patients. New coronavirus infections in the country of 17.5 million have roughly doubled in the last week and hit a record of around 16,300 in 24 hours on Thursday.
Austrian lockdown for the unvaccinated is days away, chancellor says
Austria is days away from placing millions of people not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 on lockdown, as daily infections are at a record high and intensive-care units are increasingly strained, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said on Thursday. Around 65% of Austria's population is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, national statistics show. Austria has the lowest vaccination rate of any Western European country apart from tiny Liechtenstein, according to European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control data.