AUSTRIA - Austria will impose new curbs on the unvaccinated starting from Monday. The measure aims to ease pressure on hospitals and ICUs. The lockdown will come into effect at midnight and will apply to people aged 12 and older who have not been vaccinated and have not recently recovered from Covid-19. “This step was not easy to take, but it is necessary,” Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said. “The risk for the unvaccinated people is much higher. Therefore, we are forced to take this difficult step to reduce the number of contacts.” Interior Minister Karl Nehammer earlier said lockdown violators would face hefty fines. Customers may be punished with a fine of up to €500 ($573) for flouting restrictions while businesses may be slapped with a penalty of up to €30,000 ($34,354).