Austria will become the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full coronavirus lockdown this autumn to tackle a new wave of infections.
The national shutdown will come into force on Monday, and the whole of the country’s population will also be required to get vaccinated against the disease by February.
Austria introduced a lockdown for all those who were unvaccinated on Monday but since then infections have continued to set new records.
The two worst-hit provinces, Salzburg and Upper Austria, said on Thursday they would introduce their own lockdowns, raising pressure on the government to do the same nationally.
With cold weather setting in across Europe as winter approaches, governments have been forced to consider reimposing unpopular lockdowns. The Netherlands has reimposed a partial lockdown, with bars and restaurants closing at 8pm.
Germany’s health minister Jens Spahn said a lockdown could not be ruled out for both the vaccinated and unvaccinated.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany would limit large parts of public life in areas where hospitals were becoming dangerously full of Covid patients to those who have either been vaccinated or have recovered from the illness.
