As early as Sunday morning, Austria will likely impose a lockdown on its unvaccinated residents.

Approximately 35% of Austrians – 3.1 million people – are not fully vaccinated.

This weekend will see the final decision, according to Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg.

Alexander Schallenberg, Austria’s chancellor, said on Friday that the two-tier lockdown system will be decided latest on Sunday.

Following meetings with Austria’s nine provincial governors, he added that a decision will definitely be made.

Thomas Stelzer, governor of Upper Austria, has already asked the federal government for permission to keep his province under lockdown from Monday.

Currently, Covid-19 cases are more prevalent in this area than in any other and Stelzer described it as a “dramatic” situation in an interview with the Austrian Press Agency.

Government officials first floated the idea of a national lockdown against unvaccinated patients back in September with the idea of taking effect when 30% of ICU beds are occupied by Covid patients.

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Approximately 20% of that figure is now accounted for, and that number continues to rise.

Schallenberg was very clear at a Thursday press conference about how restrictive the lockdown would be for those without vaccines.

“One cannot leave one’s home unless one is going to work, shopping (for essentials), stretching one’s legs – namely exactly what we all had to suffer through in 2020,” he explained.

A lackluster vaccination rate makes the country one of the least protected in Europe, Schallenberg said, calling it “shameful.”

Parliamentary restrictions related to pandemics in Austria are opposed by the right-wing Freedom Party, and a newly formed party called People, Freedom, Rights also.

If the lockdown plan is implemented, Austria would become the first country to implement a lockdown solely for unvaccinated individuals.

This approach has been enforced in other countries using similar methods.

In other countries, such as the United States, private employers in the US are being pressured to fire employees who refuse vaccinations.

A rule is currently in transit to give employers in the US the authority to require their employees to pay for their vaccinations.

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More so, many European countries require vaccination passports for entry into bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand supported a ‘two-tier’ approach allowing vaccinated individuals to enter freely and restricting unvaccinated individuals.