Full lockdown in Austria beginning Monday

Days after Austria imposed a lockdown on the unvaccinated, it has announced a full national Covid-19 lockdown starting on Monday.

Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said it would last at least 10 days and there would be a legal requirement to get vaccinated from 1 February 2022.

He was responding to record cases numbers and one of the lowest vaccination levels in Western Europe.

Many other European countries are imposing restrictions as cases rise.

"We don't want a fifth wave," said Mr. Schallenberg after meeting the governors of Austria's nine provinces at a resort in western Austria.

Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger announced that what he called a lockdown for the unvaccinated would start on Monday, and the Czech government is also limiting access to a variety of services.

German leaders have agreed to introduce restrictions for unvaccinated people in areas with high Covid hospital admissions that would affect 12 of Germany's 16 states.