Austria will go into a full lockdown on 22 November.

Austria will go into a full lockdown on 22 November.
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Austria to Enter Full Lockdown on Nov. 22

The small alpine country will become the first in the EU to reimpose a full nationwide lockdown amid rising Covid cases.

The lockdown will come into force from Monday 22 November and last for 20 days, with a review after 10 days. The decision comes just five days after Austria made global headlines by imposing a lockdown just for the unvaccinated amid record new Covid-19 infections.

Austria has some of the lowest Covid vaccination rates in Western Europe, with about 65% of the population of nearly nine million fully jabbed. The government also announced that it planned to make Covid vaccinations mandatory from February 2022.

"Despite months of persuasion, we haven't been able to convince enough people to get vaccinated," Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said in a press conference on Friday.

Austria is the first country in the European Union to reimpose a full lockdown this winter as Europe grapples with a surge in Covid rates. The Netherlands introduced a partial lockdown this week while Austria's neighbour Slovakia will introduce a lockdown for the unvaccinated from Monday 22 November and Germany is also tightening its rules to combat the pandemic.

Catherine Walbridge
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