Coronavirus: What’s happening in Canada and around the world on Thursday – CBC

Austria announces lottery for people who are vaccinated ahead of vote on mandate

Jan 20, 2022

Austria’s parliament is due to vote Thursday on introducing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for adults, the first of its kind in Europe.

The mandate drawn up by the government would apply to all residents of Austria age 18 and over, with exemptions for pregnant women, individuals who for medical reasons can’t be vaccinated, and people who have recovered from a coronavirus infection in the past six months.

It appears assured of approval. Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s governing coalition, made up of his conservative Austrian People’s Party and the Greens, worked with two of the three opposition parties in parliament on the plan. The other opposition party, the far-right Freedom Party, vehemently opposes it.

Austria’s conservative-led government said on Thursday it was introducing a national lottery to encourage holdouts to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, hours before the vote in parliament was due.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/coronavirus-covid19-canada-world-jan20-2022-1.6321284