Austria postpones vaccination obligation
The controversial vaccination obligation in Austria has been suspended for the time being. According to the minister in charge of constitutional affairs, Karoline Edtstadler, the violation of fundamental rights is not necessary at the moment.
The country introduced the obligation at the beginning of February so that more people would get a corona jab.
The vaccination obligation would only be enforced from Tuesday 15 March: all adults had to be able to hand over a vaccination certificate.
Residents who nevertheless refused to take a corona jab risked a fine of 600 euros.
Only pregnant women and people who have recently had corona were exempted from the injection obligation.
Austria postpones vaccination obligation
The vaccination requirement may be introduced at a later stage. The Austrian government is likely to reconsider in May or June whether the vaccination requirement should be complied with.
With the measure, Chancellor Karl Nehammer wanted to significantly reduce the impact of future waves of contamination and prevent new lockdowns. But according to Minister Edtstadler, this is not necessary with the current infection and vaccination figures.
There are more than 31,000 infections per day in the country. There are currently nearly 2,800 people with COVID-19 in hospital.
More than 76 percent of the Austrian population has had at least one corona jab. Almost 74 percent have a valid corona certificate.
More than half of the residents (56 percent) have had a booster shot.
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