London: Europe is witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases, and accounts for more than 50% of the global average in the last seven days.
Among the most affected countries amid this fresh wave of coronavirus infections are Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, France and Austria.
Governments of all these nations are worried and are reviewing the situation. But Austria has decided on a specific and unique action with Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announcing a lockdown on people who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 in the country, starting Monday.
The Chancellor said on Friday that the government will decide on the specific measures to be implemented after discussions with governors of the nine provinces on Sunday.
Austria has recorded 11,000-plus coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the highest since COVID pandemic broke in March 2020. Vaccination coverage in Austria is 65%, which is the lowest in Western Europe.
Neighbouring country Germany, which itself saw 48,600 new COVID-positive cases in the last 24 hours, has decided to classify Austria as a high-risk area Sunday onwards.
