Austria is placing millions of people not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus on lockdown as of Monday to deal with a surge in infections to record levels, Reuters quoted Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg as saying.

“We must raise the vaccination rate. It is shamefully low,” Schallenberg told a news conference announcing the new measure after a video call with the governors of Austria's nine provinces.

Roughly 65 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19, one of the lowest rates in western Europe.

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