Austria reimposes full lockdown, plans to make COVID vaccines compulsory

FILE PHOTO: People wait in front of a vaccination bus during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, as Austria's government has imposed a lockdown on people who are not fully vaccinated, in Vienna, Austria, November 18, 2021. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria will become the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full coronavirus lockdown this autumn to tackle a new wave of infections, and will require its whole population to get vaccinated as of February, the government said on Friday.

Roughly two-thirds of Austria's population is fully vaccinated, one of the lowest rates in western Europe. Much of the public is sceptical about vaccines, a view encouraged by the far-right Freedom Party, the third biggest in parliament. It is planning a protest against coronavirus restrictions on Saturday.