Thousands are protesting in Austria against Covid-19 restrictions
Updated:
In Austria, tens of thousands of people protested against measures aimed at controlling the spread of Covid-19, including obligatory vaccines. About 40,000 people gathered in Vienna for the fourth consecutive weekend of protests, according to police.
Last month, Austria became the first Western European country to reimpose a vaccination lockdown, which will last until earlier this week. Unvaccinated persons, however, will continue to be subject to limitations for the moment.
The demonstrators, who are backed by the far-right Freedom Party, are protesting the government's plan to make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory starting in February.
The country is the first in the EU to enact such a law, which applies to all inhabitants above the age of 14, except for those who require a medical exemption. The government has stated that no one would be forced to get vaccinated, but those who refuse will face a fine of 600 euros ($670), which will grow to 3,600 euros ($4,000) if not paid.
Since the epidemic began last year, Austria, which has a population of 8.9 million people, has reported 1.2 million coronavirus illnesses and almost 13,000 deaths.