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With one of the lowest vaccination rates in Europe, Austria is imposing strict rules for the unvaccinated.

Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced yesterday that a lockdown for unvaccinated people will begin today.

“We must raise the vaccination rate. It is shamefully low,” Schallenberg told a news conference announcing the new measure. People who have not been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will only be allowed to leave their homes for specific purposes, like going to a doctor, getting groceries, going to work — or getting vaccinated.

There will be random checks to ensure compliance, according to the decision from a meeting of Schallenberg and the heads of the country’s state governments.

Schallenberg had announced on Friday that he was imposing the lockdown in two regions, Upper Austria and Salzburg, both among the places most impacted by the fallout of people choosing not to take the jab. 

At a separate press conference on Friday, Austrian Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein said the government would also introduce a vaccine requirement for people working in the health care industry, but didn’t specify when the rules would go into effect. — AFP.