After failing to meet his self-imposed goal of having 70% of Americans vaccinated by the Fourth of July, President Joe Biden slowly began ratcheting up his rhetoric and imposing increasingly restrictive, top-down vaccination mandates. “We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin,” he told American citizens in September. Yet his court-enjoined orders are nothing compared to the draconian measures being imposed by governments around the world that lack America’s constitutional protections. Here are some of the worst.
1. Australia puts positive COVID patients in fenced quarantine camps, arrests those who try to leave
In at least one Australia state, the army has rounded up those who test positive for COVID-19, and those in close contact with them, and transferred them to a quarantine camp located in Howard Springs, just outside Northern Territory capital city Darwin. (That significantly expanded the army’s role of enforcing COVID-19 lockdowns over the summer and shooting rubber bullets at those who protested the lockdowns this fall.)
Video has emerged from inside the facility showing that those quarantined cannot approach others inside the camp without a mask, or face a $5,000 (Australian) fine.
Last Thursday, police arrested three teenagers for trying to flee the compound. Although the 15-, 16-, and 17-year-old inmates had tested negative for COVID-19, they had been in contact with someone who had tested positive for the virus.
One detainee said once authorities place you in your room, “they leave you. They don’t come and say anything, they don’t check up, they don’t do anything. You get delivered your meals once a day. And you are just left.”
“You feel like you’re in prison. You feel like you’ve done something wrong,” she said. “It’s inhumane what they’re doing.”
“Australia is currently building more camps similar to Howard Springs,” noted Daily Wire reporter Tim Meads.
2. Austria locks down unvaccinated, announces likely national vaccine mandate
Austria has announced it will require all citizens, reportedly starting at age 14, to be fully vaccinated by February or face fines and possibly imprisonment. Each citizen’s vaccination status would be noted in the individual’s electronic health records.
“For a long time — maybe too long — I and others assumed that it must be possible to convince people in Austria to voluntarily get vaccinated,” said Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg on November 19, echoing President Biden. “We therefore have reached a very difficult decision to introduce a national vaccine mandate.”
At the time, the government had not yet formulated the details of the law — but on December 1, a German newspaper reported the details of draft legislation now under consideration.
It was previously reported that the government would fine anyone who refuses to receive the COVID-19 vaccination €3,600 ($4,080) for the first infraction, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. That fine could be forgiven if the person obeys and receives the vaccination. Those who refuse could see their fines doubled and could even be jailed. The final fine is still under discussion.
The law would reportedly apply to everyone at least 14 years and over. It would also “relax the country’s strict data protection law to allow the linkage of people’s electronic health records with centralized vaccination registers,” reported Fortune magazine.
Thus far, “vaccinating people by physical force is off the table.”
So far, lawmakers say the new COVID measures are temporary and would expire in three years.
3. Greece: Those over 60 will be vaccinated or fined one-seventh of their monthly pension until they are
Greece has mandated that all citizens over 60 years of age receive the COVID-19 vaccination by mid-January 2022 or face a monthly fine until they relent and obey.
“Greeks over the age of 60… must book their appointment for a first jab by January 16,” said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis late last month. “Their vaccination is henceforth compulsory.”
He further asserted that his actions, which made Greece the first E.U. nation to discriminate against unvaccinated people based on age, were “absolutely constitutional.”
Those who refuse the mandatory vaccination after that date will be fined government €100 ($113 U.S.) a month until they take the shot. That’s roughly 15% of the average Greek citizen’s €730 monthly pension. Greek lawmakers approved the scheme on December 1. Before the bill’s passage, 83% of Greeks over 60 had been vaccinated voluntarily.
“It’s not a punishment,” the prime minister said of the punitive measure. “I would say it is the price for health.”
4. Italy requires health passes to work, access many public accommodations
Italy has produced a three-tiered society, requiring citizens to produce one of two health passes to access certain needs — or to remain gainfully employed.
Italy became the first nation in Europe to require all workers to provide proof they have been vaccinated, recently recovered from COVID-19, or had a negative COVID test within the last 48 hours, if they wish to keep their jobs. Those who violate the order and try to work without the health pass will be fined up to €1,500 (approximately $1,730 U.S.),under provisions approved by Prime Minister Mario Draghi in September and which went into effect on October 15.
Anyone with a negative COVID test can receive a “basic” health pass, which allows people to use public transportation or check into hotels. Police charge offenders with a €400 ($450) fine.
But thanks to a November 26 Italian government decree, “most social activities such as museums, indoor dining, theaters and sporting/entertainment events will only be allowed for Super Green Pass holders,” explains the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Italy. Those who want to dine in a restaurant, or attend a movie or concert, must produce a green-colored “super” health pass, which shows that the bearer has either been vaccinated against COVID-19 or recovered from the condition within the last six months. The measures are scheduled to continue through at least January 15, but authorities may choose to extend the scheme thanks to Omicron.
“The passes were initially intended to make travel within the EU more efficient, but several countries have widened their use,” reported the BBC.
5. Latvia bans some unvaccinated elected officials from voting on laws, even remotely.
The Baltic republic of Latvia has instituted taxation without representation for voters whose lawmakers refuse to be vaccinated or comply with other COVID-19 regulations. As this author reported at The Daily Wire:
Latvia has voted to ban politicians from voting on laws, debating bills in person or virtually, or receiving their salary if they refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccination.… The Baltic nation’s 100-member parliament, known as the Saeima, barred elected lawmakers from having a voice in the nation’s laws by a 62-7 vote on Friday. … Beginning November 15, a legislator “will be entitled to participate in the work of the Saeima only if he or she has presented an interoperable Covid-19 certificate confirming the fact of vaccination” to the body’s Mandate, Ethics, and Submissions Committee, according to a press release from the governing body.…
Lawmakers may also produce a certificate showing that they have recovered from COVID-19 or “an opinion from a specialist or council of a clinical university hospital” suggesting “the postponement of vaccination” for medical reasons, together with a negative COVID test. Everyone else must sit out legislative discussions, lose their ability to shape the nation’s laws, and lose their vote.
The law will remain in effect until July 2022, although the president of the Saeima will re-examine the law at least every other month until then.
6. Ghana requires vaccine mandates to work in certain professions
The African nation of Ghana will require all public employees and health care workers to be vaccinated starting January 22, 2022. Ghana’s government is also “ordering access to beaches, restaurants, night clubs and stadiums be limited to people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19,” the Associated Press reported on November 29.
Bonus: The EU is considering mandatory vaccination
After the 27 nations of the EU reported 59 cases of the Omicron variant, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen encouraged the nations to adopt an EU-wide vaccine mandate. EU lawmakers should “potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union,” she said last week. “This needs discussion.”
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The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.