(Credit: https://www.austria.info/)

The government of Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg has announced that the country will enter a full lockdown starting on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. The lockdown will affect all citizens in Austria.

Restaurants, cafes, bars, theaters, opera houses and sport venues will have to close. The government has also declared a compulsory vaccination against COVID-19 on the whole territory of Austria.

“We have to face reality,” stated Chancellor Schallenberg.

People will be able to leave their homes only for vital purposes, such as shopping for groceries, going to work, or getting a basic level of exercise.

“I would like to apologize for this,” said Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein. “A lockdown is always an imposition, but it is the most reliable instrument we have to break this fourth wave.”

The lockdown will last for 10 days initially, and the situation will then be reassessed.

UPDATE:

The Wiener Staatsoper has announced that it will temporarily suspend regular performances from Monday, Nov. 22, up to and including Sunday, December 12, 2021. Additionally, the premiere of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” on Dec. 5 will be broadcast live on the ORF III. The opera house also said that it would cancel performances of Donizetti’s “L’elisir d’amore” and “Don Pasquale” for organizational reasons.

The Volksoper Wien and Theater an der Wien announced that due to the new lockdown both companies will stop their regular operations from Monday, Nov. 22 up to and including Sunday, Dec. 12.