The Austrian government has now presented a bill requiring vaccination against Covid-19. Initially, there will be no penalties for those who break the law, but from mid-March there could be fines of up to tens of thousands of kronor.

The government hopes that the new vaccination requirement will come into effect in early February. The proposal was presented on Sunday and applies to all Austrians over the age of 18.

Only from mid-March will the vaccine requirement be associated with fines of between 600 and 3,600 euros.

All households will receive a letter informing them of the new law, and reminders will also be sent out to those who still do not get vaccinated, reports the APA news agency.

Of the 7.4 million Austrians covered by the vaccination requirement, eight out of ten have already been vaccinated.

Pregnant women are exempt from the requirement, as are people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.

Parliament will vote on the mandatory vaccination on Thursday. The government, which consists of the conservative ÖVP and the Greens, has enough votes in parliament to pass the requirement on its own, but has widely supported the proposal.TT