Austria Re-enters COVID Lockdown

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Ahead of the Christmas holidays, Austria shut its shops, restaurants and festive markets Monday, returning to lockdown in the most dramatic Covid-19 restriction seen in Western Europe for months.

The decision has prompted a fierce backlash, with tens of thousands taking to the streets, some blaming the government for not doing more to avert the latest coronavirus wave crashing into Europe.

As they wake up Monday morning, Austria's 8.9 million people will not be allowed to leave home except to go to work, shop for essentials and exercise.

The Alpine nation is also imposing a sweeping vaccine mandate from February 1 -- joining the Vatican as the only places in Europe with such a requirement.

Battling a resurgent pandemic almost two years since Covid-19 first emerged, several countries on the continent have reintroduced curbs, often choosing to ban unvaccinated people from venues like restaurants and bars.

But not since jabs became widely available has a European Union country had to re-enter a nationwide lockdown.