ER Editor: It’s frankly curious that Poland has set the deadline at March 1st. Why not January 1st, for example? Why have other countries like Austria left this until February 1?
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Austria’s new chancellor, Karl Nehammer, is now sounding a conciliatory note to the vaccinated according to the Berliner Zeitung:
Austria’s new chancellor Nehammer wants less pressure on unvaccinated people
In order not to further divide society, Karl Nehammer wants to implement a new Corona strategy. Vaccination skeptics are to be taken seriously in the future. (ER: say WHAT?)
Vienna – Austria’s new chancellor Karl Nehammer has hinted at a change of strategy in the fight against Corona towards the unvaccinated and vaccination skeptics. In the fight against the Corona wave, a willingness to engage in dialogue and respect for one another will be necessary in the future, Nehammer said on Monday shortly after his . In his view, it is urgent to reach out to people, listen to them, take their concerns and fears seriously and at the same time also find solutions. “The division harms us all.”
Just this weekend, some 40,000 people had again protested in Vienna against the lockdown and the mandatory vaccination announced for February. Nehammer’s predecessors in office, Sebastian Kurz and Alexander Schallenberg, had tried practically exclusively with pressure to push the vaccination skeptics to inject.
So is anything practically on the ground going to change in Austria? We’re keeping our eyes peeled.
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Conservative Poland joins countries mandating COVID-19 vaccines
RAYMOND WOLFE for LIFESITE NEWS
The majority-Catholic country is ‘following in the footsteps of Germany and Austria’ and mandating the jab for health care workers, teachers, and first responders, Poland’s health minister said.
Poland President Andrzej DudaGetty ImagesWARSAW, Poland – Conservative, majority-Catholic Poland has joined the ranks of countries mandating COVID-19 vaccination.
Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said at a news conference Tuesday that all teachers, medical professionals, and first responders, including police officers and firefighters, must be “fully vaccinated” by March 1 to maintain their jobs. The mandate will also apply to the military.
The health minister added that, starting December 15, churches, hotels, restaurants, and theaters will be required to reduce their capacity from the current 50 percent to 30 percent, the AP reported. Public transportation will be limited to 75 percent capacity, and nightclubs will be closed entirely.
Capacity limits can be exceeded for the vaccinated, however, despite the fact that they can still catch and spread COVID-19.
Polish schools will also shift to online learning around the Christmas holiday, between December 20 and January 9.
Poland’s ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), is considering an additional policy to allow employers to access workers’ COVID-19 test results. The party, led by Prime Minster Andrzej Duda, notably rejected a proposal last week to outlaw abortion as homicide.
Niedzielski said Tuesday that “the employer will — in accordance with this new approach — have the right to expect the test result to be presented by the employee — precisely in order to build a safe work environment.”
Anyone who shares a house with someone who tests positive for COVID-19 will face mandatory testing starting next week, regardless of their COVID status.
Though more than half of Poles are “fully vaccinated,” Poland, like many European countries, is reporting near-record case levels, comparable to this time last year, before the vaccine rollout even began.
“There are no signals of a clear downward trend,” Niedzielski said, adding that “there is a risk that the Omicron mutation will appear.”
“These two factors require us to take decisive action,” he said.
No global deaths have yet been attributed to Omicron, as of Friday. Early reports indicate that the variant is likely less severe than other forms of coronavirus, which has a mortality rate of 2.3 percent in Poland.
Poland follows other European countries led by conservative or center-right governments that have embraced draconian COVID-19 mandates in recent weeks, amid a virus surge that widespread vaccination and stringent lockdowns didn’t prevent.
Last month, Austria became the first Western nation to mandate the jab for all citizens age 14 and up. Greece announced plans last Tuesday for a similar mandate for senior citizens.
And in Hungary, the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán recently introduced booster jab requirements for health care workers, mandatory vaccination for state-run institutions, and COVID passes for large public gatherings.
Several other European countries, including Germany, France, and Switzerland, have also announced new COVID measures in the past week, setting off a fresh wave of protests across the continent.
WATCH: Demonstrators invade a Christmas market in Luxembourg, access to which is restricted by vaccine passports.pic.twitter.com/wtB8p6NpBr
— Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) December 4, 2021
#Belgium 🇧🇪 Today! The #Brussels firefighter and care worker protest against the covid mandates
The home of the EU looking like a warzone as water canon and huge police forces have been deployed pic.twitter.com/2holZ40yJT— La French ConAction..🇫🇷 (@LFConaction) December 5, 2021
🇮🇹Milan ,Italy🇮🇹 Massive Criwds Out tonight in Protest and March against Covid Passport Restrictions and Mandates….
Now is the Time!! pic.twitter.com/9jdf8lGnCk— 🔴⚪️💙 DEAN 🔴⚪️💙 (@777DEAN777) December 5, 2021
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