Around 40,000 people protest in Austria against mandatory vaccination

Around 40,000 people have taken part in a protest against mandatory vaccination and other anti-COVID measures in various cities in Austria this Saturday, November 27.

The largest protest took place in Graz, the second-largest city in Austria and capital of the southeastern province of Styria. More than 30,000 people gathered to protest, chanting slogans such as “Peace, freedom, no dictatorship”. This protest, one of the largest in Graz since the middle of the last century, took place peacefully, although police issued a number of warnings over people not wearing masks.

Some episodes of tension and confrontation between the police and protesters occurred in other cities. Protests were also held in Innsbruck, Sankt Polten, and Klagenfurt, where around 10,500 people gathered.

The Austrian government intends to make vaccination mandatory. The draft law will be presented in mid-December, and the law is to come into effect in February.

The growing number of COVID cases in the last seven days has slowed down in Austria slightly, although the number remains high. This Saturday there were 1,030 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Austria has the lowest vaccination rate in Western Europe.

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