Austria powers down public life as fourth COVID-19 lockdown begins

FILE PHOTO: Police officers check the vaccination status of shoppers against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the entrance of a store in Vienna, Austria, November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria powered down public life on Monday as its fourth national COVID-19 lockdown began, making it the first western European country to reimpose the drastic and unpopular measure this autumn in the face of surging coronavirus infections.

This lockdown is similar to previous ones but is the first introduced since vaccines became widely available. Most places people gather, like restaurants, cafes, bars, theatres, non-essential shops and hairdressers cannot open their doors for 10 days initially and maybe as many as 20, the government says.