Nearly 44,000 people gathered on the streets of Austria's capital Vienna on Saturday and staged a protest against the mandatory Covid-19 vaccination that has been imposed by the government earlier this week given the rise in the cases of coronavirus amid the newly occurring Omicron variant.
According to the police officials, around 1,400 policemen were on duty to oversee the protest where they witnessed tens of thousands of people coming onto the streets joining the protest.
Protestors were seen holding placards that read, "No to vaccine fascism," "I'm not a neo-Nazi or a hooligan," and, "I'm fighting for freedom and against the vaccine," news agency AFP stated.
Additionally, banners stating "No to compulsory vaccination" and "Hands off our children" were carried by protesters in Vienna, who chanted "We are the people," and "resistance".
The government in Austria has stated that those who have not received the required vaccine dose will need to stay at home as it makes the vaccine mandatory from February for all residents older than 14.
The rally was called and addressed by right-wing Austrian Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl who attacked the governments' response to the pandemic.
Nobody will be vaccinated by force, the government has said, but those who refuse the shot will have to pay an initial fine of 600 euros ($670), which can then increase to 3,600 euros ($4,000) if not settled.
Nearly 68 percent of the country's population is fully vaccinated that counts for the lowest Covid-19 jabs in Western Europe.
Austria, which has a population of 8.9 million people, has reported 1.2 million coronavirus cases and more than 13,000 deaths since the pandemic began last year.
(with agency inputs)
