Amid rising COVID-19 cases, Austria announced it would implement a full national lockdown. The country will also require COVID-19 vaccinations for all eligible citizens – the first such measure in Europe.
Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced the latest lockdown and compulsory COVID-19 vaccinations on Friday after meeting the governors of Austria’s nine provinces.
“We don’t want a fifth wave. We don’t want a sixth and seventh wave,” Schallenberg said at a press conference. “We have not succeeded in convincing enough people to get vaccinated. It hurts that such measures still have to be taken.”
