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World: Austria Will Force Entire Population to Get Vaccine, First European Country to Do So
- By newsweek
- november 19, 2021
Let’s Get to Know Space Force, Trump’s Most Misunderstood Creation
Despite Trump’s misleading hype and the constant sci-fi jokes, the newest military branch has a serious mission (though it’s still a bit funny).Perhaps there was no way for the U.S. military to create a service focused on space without eliciting giggles and incredulity, as Americans have been fed a steady diet of militaristic science fiction for decades. But it didn’t help that Space Force was established by President Donald Trump, who is known for his childish whims. When he proclaimed in 2018 that “space is a war-fighting domain,” it felt like there was a nonzero chance he was picturing U.S. troops blasting their way across the surface of Mars.
Despite Trump’s misleading hype and the constant sci-fi jokes, the newest military branch has a serious mission (though it’s still a bit funny).Perhaps there was no way for the U.S. military to create a service focused on space without eliciting giggles and incredulity, as Americans have been fed a steady diet of militaristic science fiction for decades. But it didn’t help that Space Force was established by President Donald Trump, who is known for his childish whims. When he proclaimed in 2018 that “space is a war-fighting domain,” it felt like there was a nonzero chance he was picturing U.S. troops blasting their way across the surface of Mars. Austria is set to become the first country in Europe to require its entire population be vaccinated against COVID-19 by law.
© GEORG HOCHMUTH/APA/AFP/Getty Images Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg (OeVP) speaks during a press conference after a Corona crisis' summit with the government and provincial governors in Vienna, Austria, on November 14, 2021. He announced on Friday that COVID-19 vaccines will be mandatory for the entire population. Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced during a press conference Friday that from February 1, 2022, it would be a "requirement to get vaccinated" against COVID-19.
Austria set to impose nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated
The Austrian government will meet over the weekend with plans to implement a nationwide lockdown on unvaccinated people, after already setting in place such measures in two regionsChancellor Alexander Schallenberg said Friday that he and regional leaders would get together on Sunday to discuss the plans, and that "The aim is very clear: that we give the green light this Sunday for a nationwide lockdown for the unvaccinated," the Associated Press reported. "We have not managed to get enough unvaccinated people to get vaccinated. The most recent measures have increased daily vaccinations but not enough," Schallenberg told reporters. "For a long time, it was consensus in the country that a vaccine mandate is not necessary, but we have to face reality."
He separately announced a full national lockdown, effective Monday, November 22, as the country grapples with a record surge in infections.
The full lockdown, agreed to by the country's nine federal states, would be imposed for a "maximum of 20 days," Schallenberg said, as Austria battles a fourth wave of infections.
Supermarkets will remain open, while schools and restaurants will be closed, and cultural events will be canceled, Schallenberg told reporters, adding: "We do not want a fifth wave."
What a staggering gun cache discovered in one suspected neo-Nazi's house says about far-right extremism in Europe
Last month, Austrian police made a remarkable discovery. In a raid on a house in the town of Baden, they found an arsenal of weapons and 1,200 kilograms of ammunition -- as well as Nazi paraphernalia and a large amount of gunpowder. © from Lower Austria Police Some of the weapons that were seized from a house in Baden, Austria, in October 2021. Altogether some 50 weapons, including submachine guns and pump-action rifles, were seized. According to a police statement, the house belonged to a 53-year-old man who is "suspected of national socialist Nazi activities," including sharing numerous files on Internet forums. The news comes just days after Austria implemented a lockdown for its unvaccinated residents, which prohibits unvaccinated citizens over the age of 12 from leaving their homes for unessential reasons.
Violators of those measures face fines of up to 1,450 euros, or $1,660.
"We really didn't take this step lightly and I don't think it should be talked down,"Schallenberg said in a radio interview at the time.
"My aim is very clearly to get the unvaccinated to get themselves vaccinated and not to lock down the vaccinated. In the long term, the way out of this vicious circle we are in—and it is a vicious circle, we are stumbling from wave to lockdown, and that can't carry on ad infinitum—is only vaccination."
"This a dramatic step—about 2 million people in this country are affected....What we are trying is precisely to reduce contact between the unvaccinated and vaccinated to a minimum, and also contact between the unvaccinated," added Schallenberg.
Alpine country goes back into lockdown, suspending tourism as the holiday season starts
Austria has introduced unprecedented new Covid measures, Ireland's under a midnight curfew, but India has reopened to vaccinated tourists. Here are some of the biggest developments in travel this week.Here are some of the biggest developments in travel this week: Austria's COVID-19 vaccination rate remains among the lowest in western Europe, with approximately two-thirds of the country's population fully vaccinated against the virus.
Schallenberg previously described Austria's vaccination rate as "shamefully low."
The country on Thursday recorded 15,145 new infections, marking a record high for cases recorded in a single day.
Indonesia, Micronesia and Turkmenistan have made COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for their adult populations, however, Austria is the first European country to impose such a measure.
Related Articles
- What Austria's Lockdown for Those Unvaccinated Against COVID Really Means
- Austria Lockdown: How Many People Are Unvaccinated for COVID
- Austria to Place Unvaccinated Under Lockdown As Europe Fights COVID Surge
- Germany Faces 'Bitter December,' People Urged to Reduce Contact as COVID Cases Soar
- Unvaccinated in Austria Go Under Lockdown, Face $1,660 Fine Per Violation
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Fresh snow beckons Italian skiers returning after 20 months .
SAN VIGILIO DI MAREBBE, Italy (AP) — After nearly two years of being restricted to watching snow accumulate on distant mountains, Italian skiers are finally returning to the slopes that have been off-limits since the first pandemic lockdown in March 2020. But just as the industry is poised to start its recovery from the lost season and the abrupt closure the previous year, a spike in cases in the Alpine province bordering Austria is underlining just how precarious the situation remains.
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