Protests against COVID measures by Austrian far – right Freedom Party Coronavirus pandemic News

Supporters of the Freedom Party are among the thousands protesting against the blockade of COVID in Vienna and compulsory vaccinations.

Thousands of protesters have gathered in the Austrian capital, Vienna, after the government announced a nationwide blockade to contain the rapidly growing coronavirus infections in the country.

The opposition far-right Freedom Party is among those who called for a protest on Saturday and pledged to face new restrictions.

Demonstrations against virus measures are also expected in other European countries, including Switzerland, Croatia and Italy.

Friday night, Dutch police he opened fire against protesters and seven people were injured in clashes that erupted around a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions in central Rotterdam.

The Austrian blockade will begin early Monday and will initially last 10 days before being re-evaluated. It will last a maximum of 20 days. Most stores will be closed, and cultural events will be canceled. People can only leave the house for certain reasons, to buy food, to go to the doctor or to exercise.

The government also said the country will do so from February 1 vaccinations are mandatory.

Vaccines in Austria have stopped at one of the lowest rates in western Europe and hospitals in hard-hit states have warned that intensive care units are reaching capacity. The average number of deaths per day has tripled in recent weeks.

Less than 66 per cent of Austria’s 8.9 million people are fully vaccinated, according to government data.

Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg apologized to all people vaccinated on Friday night, saying it was not fair to have to endure renewed blockade restrictions when they did everything they could to keep the virus at bay.

“I’m sorry to take this drastic step,” he told the public channel ORF.

Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl, who announced earlier this week that he was positive for COVID-19, referred to the measures as a “dictatorship”.

Kickle will have to self-isolate for 14 days so he will not be able to go to the Vienna protest.

Michael Bonvalot, an Austrian journalist and writer, told Al Jazeera that the far-right movement, especially the Freedom Party, has taken advantage of the dissatisfaction with some of the government’s COVID regulations.

“What the far right did was see a layer of the population that was not entirely happy with the necessary measures against the pandemic,” he said in a speech from Vienna.

Bonvalot said the far right is being organized around anti-COVID rules and that anti-Semitic conspiracy theories are being added to their agenda.

“If we look at the numbers right now, I think 20-25 percent of the population is completely happy and close to conspiracy theories, and that’s what the far right is trying to recruit.” he said.

In areas where the right movement is strong, “[fewer] people get vaccinated and more people get sick, ”he added.