Author: Blazingcatfur

Austria will soon bar the unvaccinated from entering a long list of public places, among them bars, cafes and hotels, the country’s chancellor said, pointing to an unexpectedly rapid surge in Covid-19 cases.

The entry ban will come into effect next week and will apply to cafes, bars, restaurants, theaters, ski lodges, hotels, hairdressers and any event involving more than 25 people, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg told reporters on Friday. The move could affect a large swath of Austria’s population, with some 36% of its residents still not fully immunized against the virus.

A Saskatoon bishop has written an open letter on what he calls the severity of vaccine mandates. He copied both the Premier Scott Moe and Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark in the letter.

Bishop Mark Hagemoen of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon wrote the letter after a City of Saskatoon bylaw that would have restricted gathering sizes in Saskatoon — including for places of worship, unless proof of vaccination was required — was recently defeated.

“The vaccine mandates for the general population are becoming severe and perhaps ethically questionable in our current circumstances — at least as these relate to environments outside of health-care facilities,” said Hagemoen in the letter.

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues around the world, we might ask whether it has not already profoundly changed our way of life. Might we find ourselves to be like those prisoners who miss their cells, once released, finding in their newfound independence the bitter taste of anxiety?