Austria, with a coalition government of Conservatives and Greens, has decided to “lock up & rdquor; the unvaccinated population, who will only be able to leave home to work (with a negative coronavirus test), go to the doctor or shop at essential stores. The reason is the reappearance of infections. Cases exceed 800 per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days and particularly affect the unvaccinated.
Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg has said the move, which it will affect more than two of the 8.9 million inhabitants, it was necessary because “the percentage of vaccinated is shamefully low (65%), and without raising it we will not be able to get out of this vicious circle & rdquor ;. AND the interior minister was “persuasive & rdquor ;: “From this Monday everyone who lives in Austria must know that he can be controlled by the police at any time & rdquor ;.
In Germany, where the infection has already reached 300 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days (90%, not vaccinated) and the Government is in office, similar measures are being prepared. The first, prohibiting the use of all public transport to the unvaccinated. Christian Lindner, president of the liberal party and very likely new finance minister of the next government, has expressed without complexes the new strategy of rounding up the unvaccinated: “Those who have already been vaccinated can continue to have a normal social life, anything else would be a disproportionate remedy & rdquor ;. And the Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German president, clinched the message by telling those not yet vaccinated that They were putting not only their health at risk, but that of the entire population: “What else has to happen for them to decide to get vaccinated? & Rdquor;
And it’s not just health. The European Commission has lowered the growth forecast of the euro zone from 2.3% (2% in Spain) in the third quarter to 0.8% in the fourth. The reason is supply bottlenecks and rising inflation, but if the outbreak of the coronavirus affects the Christmas campaigns in the countries of central Europe (Germany, Austria, Holland) the setback could be greater.
The health authorities of these countries are convinced that the outbreak is mainly due to the fact that have a relatively low vaccination rate (67% in Germany, 65% in Austria), and that the increase in the number of vaccinated would slow down the pandemic. But in these countries, there is a part of the population – jumped mainly by the extreme right – that is not only against vaccines, but also protests with some virulence against preventive measures.
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If this is so, the new wave of coronavirus it should affect Spain much less, although infections have increased in the Basque Country, which has already reached the level of 150 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, and where some restrictive measures are being prepared. The rationale is that Spain has a very high vaccination rate, 89%, which is more than 20 points higher than that of Austria and Germany.
In recent days there is a logical climate of pessimism in Spain because the economic rebound is being less than expected and inflation has skyrocketed. It is worrying, but it is fair to recognize that the vaccination campaign has been a remarkable success that is the merit of all governments, the central and regional governments, and of an attitude of the population of confidence in science and medicine. That is why some southern countries (Spain, Italy) are better than Central Europeans today in the face of the new wave of the coronavirus.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com