Even in Slovakia and Greece close to the no vax, in two Austrian regions the lockdown is triggered for everyone

Squeezed on the no vax also in Greece and Slovakia.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced new restrictions for the unvaccinated tonight in a speech to the nation. From Monday, those who are not immunized will no longer be able to access public "closed places", including restaurants, cinemas, theaters, museums and gyms. Furthermore, the executive decided to reduce the duration of the green pass to 7 months for the over 60s to encourage them to take the third dose as soon as possible.

"Greece is mourning avoidable victims because it quite simply does not have the percentage of vaccinations of other European countries," said the head of the Athens government.

In Slovakia, on the other hand, a three-week lockdown for unvaccinated only comes into force on Monday. This was announced today by Prime Minister Eduard Heger in a press conference broadcast live on television.

With the new squeeze, only people vaccinated or healed in the last six months from Covid will be able to enter restaurants, shopping centers, non-essential goods stores, participate in public events and do sporting activities. In addition, the obligation to test the unvaccinated at work is triggered.

The country of 5.5 million has seen a record number of cases in recent days, surpassing 8,000 on Tuesday, and ICU beds have been in short supply since the beginning of this week. Furthermore, there is one of the lowest vaccination rates in the European Union, with 45% of the population immunized compared to the EU average of 65%.

The lockdown for unvaccinated people has already been in effect since Monday in Austria, but the governors of two dramatically affected regions - Upper Austria and the Land of Salzburg - have ordered a general lockdown for the entire population starting from Monday.

The weekly incidence per 100 thousand inhabitants in the Salzburg area is 1,672, 1,557 in Upper Austria. "We no longer have much room for maneuver," said Upper Austrian Governor Thomas Stelzer. "The lockdown will last a few weeks", he added, underlining that it was necessary "to allow the hospitals to operate".

At this point, a general national lockdown cannot be ruled out, given the incidence of 971 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants.

(Unioneonline / L)