India: Authorities considering New Delhi lockdown to cut dangerous air pollution levels

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/amp/india-authorities-considering-new-delhi-lockdown-to-cut-dangerous-air-pollution-levels-12470667

Some coal-based power plants have been closed, but India’s top court is considering implementing a lockdown – a first of its kind in the country – to stem pollution and not to control coronavirus infections.

Authorities in New Delhi are considering a first-of-its-kind lockdown to combat worsening air pollution.

Schools have already been closed indefinitely as severe smog choked people living in the Indian capital and neighbouring states on Wednesday.

The number of dangerous pollution particles in New Delhi’s air was measured at seven times the safe level on Wednesday, climbing above 300 micrograms per cubic metre in some parts of the city.

Schools close as smog-laden India capital considers lockdown

Source: https://www.riverbender.com/topnews/details.cfm?id=362396

NEW DELHI (AP) — Authorities closed schools indefinitely and shut down some coal-burning power plants Wednesday to reduce air pollution in India’s smog-shrouded capital and neighboring states, as the country weighs an unprecedented and more far-reaching step: a lockdown in New Delhi.

The dirty-air crisis in the city of more than 20 million people has underscored India’s heavy dependence on coal, which accounts for 70% of the country’s power.

The New Delhi state government said it is open to the idea of a weekend lockdown to reduce automobile traffic and potentially other air-polluting activity in the city, and it is awaiting the go-ahead from India’s Supreme Court. A decision could come as early as Nov. 24.

It’s not clear how extensive the lockdown would be. Authorities are discussing whether to allow industries to continue operating.

Some experts said a lockdown would achieve very little in controlling pollution and would instead cause disruptions in the economy and harm the livelihoods of millions of people.

“This is not the solution that we are looking for, because this is hugely disruptive. And we also have to keep in mind that the economy is already under pressure, poor people are at risk,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director at the Center for Science and Environment, a research and advocacy organization in New Delhi.

Soaring pollution levels in the capital prompted a federal environment ministry panel to issue strict guidelines Tuesday night to stem the pollution and show residents that the government is taking action against a crisis that has plagued the city for years.

Austria’s Salzburg And Upper Austria Expand Lockdown To Include Entire Population

Source: https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/austrias-salzburg-and-upper-austria-expand-lockdown-include-entire-population

It’s no longer just the unvaccinated who are subject to Austria’s draconian lockdowns: following the record surge in covid cases  in Austria which we discussed earlier,

… the regions of Salzburg and Upper Austria will introduce a lockdown for the entire population starting on Monday, which regional leaders said would last for “several weeks” but would hopefully be over by Christmas.

There is no longer any alternative than to order a full lockdown in the region, Salzburg’s governor Wilfried Haslauer told a press conference on Thursday afternoon: “We have considered a lockdown to be a significant infringement on the public, but now we are left with no other choice,” he said according to The Local.

The length of the lockdown is not yet confirmed, but Haslauer said it would last at least three weeks, and most likely four. As in previous lockdowns, it would be possible to leave home only for essential purposes including food shopping, exercise, and accessing medical care including vaccinations. Hotels, restaurants and retail stores will close.

He urged everyone in the region who is eligible to get their first vaccine doses as well as boosters, “so that we can get out of this lockdown as soon as possible, before Christmas if at all possible”. Salzburg this week followed Vienna in making booster doses possible from four months after the second dose.

Haslauer also said that all municipalities in Salzburg would be offering vaccination seven days a week. He noted that as of Monday, Salzburg already has the strictest measures in Austria, but said: “The time it takes for these to take effect is time that our hospitals do not have.”

Germany Preparing to Impose Austria-Style Lockdown on the Unvaccinated

Source: https://www.infowars.com/posts/germany-preparing-to-impose-austria-style-lockdown-on-the-unvaccinated/

Germany is preparing to follow the example of Austria by imposing new lockdown measures that will exclusively apply to the unvaccinated.

As we highlighted yesterday, Austrian authorities are enforcing the new measures by having police patrol supermarkets and highways, stopping people and checking their vaccination status.

Similar scenes could now be about to unfold in neighboring Germany.

The Guardian reports that the COVID situation in the country is worse now than it was before the vaccine was introduced.

“On Tuesday the country’s disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute, recorded a seven-day incidence rate of 312 cases per 100,000 people, with several areas at more than 1,000. A year ago, before the vaccine was introduced, the rate stood at 139,” reports the newspaper.

While “not as stringent” as the measures imposed on unjabbed Austrians, several states are now moving to exclude the unvaccinated from numerous venues.

Italian Governors Call For Unvaccinated to be Put Under Lockdown

Source: https://www.infowars.com/posts/italian-governors-call-for-unvaccinated-to-be-put-under-lockdown/

Five Italian Governors have called for lockdown measures to be imposed on the unvaccinated, following the example of Austria, while Czech Republic and Slovakia are also moving to enforce similar measures.

As we previously highlighted, after Austria placed the unjabbed under lockdown, preventing them from leaving their homes for anything other than “essential reasons,” police were seen patrolling supermarkets and highways checking resident’s vaccination status.

Several states in Germany also announced that they would ban the unvaccinated from numerous venues.

Now Italy’s unvaccinated population, which stands at around 7 million, could be about to face the same form of medical apartheid.

“Eventual new lockdowns should not have to be suffered by those who are vaccinated. Restrictions should only apply to those who are not immunized,” said Massimiliano Fedriga, the Governor of Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the northeast of the country.

The Telegraph reports that, “His stance is supported by the governors of Tuscany, Calabria, Liguria and Piedmont.”

Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi echoed the demand, tweeting, “You’re not vaccinated? Then stay at home.”

Outgoing Czech Republic Prime Minister Andrej Babis has also announced that the the unvaccinated will be banned from shops and restaurants, with the option to provide a negative test removed (despite the fact that the vaccinated can still transmit the virus).