An hour from Bratislava, 30,000 people are protesting against the lockdown. Tensions in Austria are rising, protesters throw bottles into police officers – REFRESHER

Around 30,000 protesters gathered in Vienna today to protest the government’s pandemic regulations for several hours. She announced a nationwide lockdown yesterday, which will apply to both vaccinated and non-vaccinated. In addition, the government plans to introduce compulsory vaccination for all Austrian residents from 1 February.

The move angered the 30,000 people who took to the streets today. According to the Austrian media, the demonstrators also mobilized far-right extremist groups and opposition political parties.

Protesters are moving in the center of Vienna. Their march disrupted traffic, and there were several arrests. Some of them threw bottles at the cops.

“The atmosphere is fierce.” said a police spokesman. It is also captured in authentic footage of protests that demonstrators or residents of Vienna share on social networks.

?? Austria: Protesters scuffle with police at anti covid restrictions rally in Vienna pic.twitter.com/yQ0mzg1X2q

– Anonymous UK Citizen (@AnonCitizenUK) November 20, 2021

Slovaks living in Austria also came to support the protest. In the video where the protesters are being dispersed by the police, you may notice the Slovak flag on the left.

Austria announced a nationwide lockdown yesterday due to an extremely high number of coronavirus cases. In recent days, there have been more than 10,000 infected daily. Hospitals are facing an onslaught of patients and, according to Austrian politicians, are in danger of collapsing.

Lockdown begins on Monday, November 22 and should last 20 days. Then the rules for the vaccinated will probably be relaxed, but the unvaccinated will remain in the lockdown. From February 1, everyone will have to be vaccinated against coronavirus. Currently, Austria is one of the least vaccinated countries in Western Europe.

“We have persuaded people for too long to be vaccinated voluntarily.” explained the decision of the Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg yesterday. “We have persuaded them for too long to protect ourselves, our loved ones, friends or colleagues.” he added.

In practice, a lockdown will mean that people are not allowed to leave their homes, with a few exceptions, such as shopping for basic necessities or sports. Restaurants will be closed and cultural events will be canceled.

All students will have to return to distance learning. The health minister later clarified that schools would remain open to those who needed to go there, but asked all parents to leave their children at home if possible.