Austrian police carry out routine checks as unvaccinated enter lockdown

Experts warn rules will be hard to enforce, as country records highest Covid infection rate in western Europe

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Police in Austria have begun carrying out routine checks on commuters to ensure compliance with a nationwide lockdown for the unvaccinated", as the Alpine country tries to get on top of one of the most rapidly rising infection rates in Europe.

The restrictions, which came into effect on Monday morning, will affect almost 2 million Austrian citizens aged 12 and older who have so far not been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Of those, the 356,000 people who have been vaccinated only once can be released from lockdown if they show a negative PCR test.