Austria makes vaccination mandatory

Austria will enter a fourth national lockdown on Monday as Covid-19 cases continue to surge, becoming the first country in Western Europe to impose stringent measures this fall.

The country’s unvaccinated are already barred from leaving their homes for non-essential purposes.

Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced at a press conference on Friday that those lockdown measures would be extended to the entire country from Monday. The lockdown would last for a maximum of 20 days, Schallenberg said, but would initially be put in place for 10 days.

In a first for the region, he also announced that Covid vaccination would become mandatory in Austria from Feb. 1.