Totalitarianism 2.0

Germany is set to introduce tighter curbs on people who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19, as cases in the country hit a record high.

Restrictions for unvaccinated people will be introduced in areas where hospital admissions exceed a set threshold, Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of Germany's 16 states agreed.Under the rules, the unvaccinated will be excluded from certain venues.

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Mrs Merkel and the other leaders also agreed on Thursday that healthcare and care home employees must be vaccinated to control the spread of the virus.

Their announcement came after Germany's lower house of parliament voted in favour of a new set of Covid measures, including limiting access to public transport and the workplace to only people who have been vaccinated or tested.

These measures still need to be agreed by parliament's upper house on Friday, and some conservative politicians have threatened to block the bill.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59337955

Days after Austria imposed a lockdown on the unvaccinated, it has announced a full national Covid-19 lockdown starting on Monday.

Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said it would last a maximum of 20 days and there would be a legal requirement to get vaccinated from 1 February 2022.

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For a long time, there had been a consensus over avoiding mandatory vaccinations, the chancellor said.However, too many people had been incited not to get the jab, because of "too many political forces, flimsy vaccination opponents and fake news", he added. The measures are yet to be finalised.

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Austria's is the first full lockdown imposed by an EU country this winter.

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Tighter restrictions also come into force in Belgium on Saturday, requiring working from home for four days a week.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59343650

The Austrian lockdown will start early Monday and initially will last for 10 days, and will then be reevaluated. At the most it will last 20 days. Most stores will close, and cultural events will be cancelled. People will be able to leave their homes only for certain specific reasons, including buying groceries, going to the doctor or exercising.The Austrian government also said that starting Feb 1, the country will make vaccinations mandatory.

As the march kicked off on Vienna's Heldenplatz, thousands of protesters gathered on the massive square. About 1,300 police officers were on duty. They used loudspeakers to tell protesters masks were required, but most didn't wear them.

Chanting resistance! and blowing whistles, protesters began to move slowly down the city's inner ring road. Many waved Austrian flags and carried signs mocking government leaders like Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg and Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein.

Some wore doctor's scrubs; others donned tinfoil hats. Most of the signs focused on the newly announced vaccine mandate: My Body, My Choice, read one. We're Standing Up for Our Kids! said another.

www.business-standard.com/article/international/covid-austrians-take-to-the-streets-against-vaccine-mandate-lockdown-121112000899_1.html

NO to Covid pass and mandatory vaccine!

HUGE protest in Austria re. covid19 - Nov 20, 3 different areas

Seven people were left injured after police fired warning shots during anti-lockdown demonstrations in the Netherlands.

Riots broke out in downtown Rotterdam on Friday night in reaction to plans by the government to restrict access for unvaccinated people to some indoor public venues.