Covid-19: Austria enters lockdown as cases surge across Europe

Clinicians and public health experts have been urging the public to get vaccinated against covid-19 and have called for clear messages from governments on preventive measures as Europe deals with a surge in cases.

On 19 November Austria imposed a countrywide lockdown and became the first European country to make covid vaccination mandatory, from 1 February 2022. With 1400 cases per million people in the past week,1 the decision to lockdown was a “last resort,” said Wolfgang Mückstein, health minister. Full vaccination rates in Austria remain relatively low at 64%.

Slovakia and Slovenia were the only countries in Europe to record higher confirmed case rates, with seven day averages of 1640 and 1580 cases per million people, respectively. Belgium (1180), the Czech Republic (1170), the Netherlands (1050), and Ireland (890) all recorded high case rates, and slightly lower levels …