Austria imposes full lockdown, Germany may follow as COVID increases in Europe

Austria imposes full lockdown, Germany may follow as COVID grips Europe Austria will become the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full COVID-19 lockdown, it said on Friday as neighbouring Germany warned it may follow suit, sending shivers through financial markets worried about the economic fallout. Francois Murphy,Paul Carrel Reuters

VIENNA/BERLIN, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Austria will become the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full COVID-19 lockdown, it said on Friday as neighbouring Germany warned it may follow suit, sending shivers through financial markets worried about the economic fallout.

A fourth wave of infections has plunged Germany, Europe's largest economy, into a national emergency, Health Minister Jens Spahn said, warning that vaccinations alone will not cut case numbers.

Austria said it would require the whole population to be vaccinated as of February, a decision bound to infuriate many in a country where scepticism about vaccines runs high, encouraged by the far-right Freedom Party, the third-biggest in parliament.

The party is planning a protest against coronavirus restrictions on Saturday.

Roughly two-thirds of those eligible in Austria are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, one of the lowest rates in western Europe. Its infections are among the highest on the continent, with a seven-day incidence of 991 per 100,000 people.

"We have not succeeded in convincing enough people to get vaccinated," Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg told a news conference, saying the lockdown would start on Monday and the requirement to be vaccinated on Feb. 1.  ...