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Austria May Ban Anti-Vaccine Protests Near Hospitals

Austria May Ban Anti-Vaccine Protests Near Hospitals

Austria is considering banning demonstrations near hospitals to protect healthcare workers amid anger over the country’s planned mandatory vaccination policy.

The government bill may impose curbs on protests to avoid disruptions in access to healthcare, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told reporters Wednesday. Authorities are also asking medical workers to report harassment.

Karner cited recent demonstrations near hospitals and an attack against a person supervising a protest against mandatory vaccinations, which are set to come into force in February.

Austria’s government is looking to quell social unrest against the controversial policy. The unvaccinated are already barred from most areas of life, including non-essential shopping, hotels and restaurants, and need regular testing to enter their workplace.

It’s unclear to what extent the measures are enforced, but they’ve served as an incentive to raise the vaccination rate to 74% of the eligible population.

About 59% of Austrians support making vaccines mandatory, according to a Gallup survey published by the APA news service Wednesday.

Still, protests in Vienna  -- backed by the far-right Freedom Party -- have drawn tens of thousands of people.

The country’s intelligence chief warned the vaccine policy may trigger more people to join right-extremist groups which have links to the anti-vaccine movement

“As protectors of constitutional order it is important for us to observe these attitudes that reject democracy and intervene if necessary,” Omar Haijawi-Pirchner said. 

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.