There were 167 new cases of Covid-19 in the community on Thursday and a further two deaths as the virus continued to spread across the country.
Video / Michael Craig / Dean Purcell / Jed Bradley
Europe faces the return of full lockdowns as the fourth wave of Covid brings sweeping restrictions even for the vaccinated.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, left the door open to lockdown restrictions as she said "unspecified" measures would be introduced in the worst-hit states.
"It is absolutely time to act,"Merkel said, announcing measures stopping the unvaccinated from visiting bars, restaurants and theatres if hospitalisation rates got too high.
If virus rates rise further, governors would be empowered to take more draconian measures, including against the vaccinated.
Neighbouring Austria, which this week became the first European country to lock down the unvaccinated, will hold talks over a full federal shutdown on Friday amid unconfirmed reports of bodies being stored in overcrowded hospital corridors.
The states of Salzburg and Upper Austria will enter a month-long full lockdown next week, regardless of the outcome of the talks between regional leaders and Alexander Schallenberg, the conservative Chancellor.
The country has some of the lowest vaccination rates in western Europe. The problem is even more acute in parts of eastern Europe, where endemic corruption has led to distrust in the medical system.
Daily new confirmed Covid cases per million people in Europe. Photo / Our World in Data
The European Medicines Agency on Thursday blamed people not getting jabbed and the Delta variant of Covid for under-pressure intensive care units. Dr Marco Cavaleri warned: "We are in the midst of what we call the fourth wave."
The UK recorded 46,807 cases on Thursday – the highest since October 22 – but hospitalisations remained low compared with the peak of the pandemic.
Rates among schoolchildren have risen sharply, and local authorities have been given the power to impose masks in secondary schools.
In France, Spain, Portugal and Italy, cases remain low but are rising. Germany recorded 65,371 new cases – another new record – with a week-long rate of 336.9 per 100,000 people, slightly more than the UK's.
Under plans unveiled by Merkel, German regions will introduce restrictions on a tiered system depending on hospital capacity.
Access to restaurants, bars, gyms, cinemas and events will be restricted to those who can show proof of vaccination or recovery from the virus.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacts during a parliament Bundestag session about new measures to battle the coronavirus pandemic at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany. Photo / AP
In regions in which Covid is rife, vaccinated people will also have to show a recent negative test. The worst affected regions could impose lockdowns or other unspecified restrictions on the vaccinated.
Austria recorded more than 15,000 new cases on Thursday, and has a seven-day incidence of 989 per 100,000 inhabitants, nearly three times as high as the UK's.
Roughly two-thirds of the Austrian population are fully vaccinated, although demand for jabs rose dramatically this week after restrictions on the unvaccinated were introduced.
Salzburg and Upper Austria will go it alone and close non-essential shops, close schools apart from children of key workers and confine people to their homes except for strict conditions.
Leandros Giomataris, 26, a restaurant manager in Linz, said: "We were closed for seven months – what do we do with our staff now?"
Raul Gilles, a 19-year-old student, said the measures were justified but should have been taken earlier. He added: "I hope very much that we can save Christmas. It is bad that we have to stay at home again, even if we are vaccinated twice."
Thousands of people took to the streets in Graz, Austria's third largest city, on Wednesday chanting anti-lockdown slogans, with a major rally planned in Vienna on Saturday.
German lawmakers approved new measures Thursday to rein in record coronavirus infections. Photo / AP
Several hundred protesters gathered outside the Austrian embassy in Paris on Thursday, fearing France might be next to re-impose curbs.
Protesters blocked a major route into Rotterdam harbour on Thursday after the Netherlands introduced a partial lockdown. Non-essential shops and bars are under curfew, and people advised to work from home.
The Netherlands posted record infection rates of 23,680 on Thursday for the second day in a row amid reports it was running low on Covid tests and the government wanted to extend the Christmas holidays to slow rising infections among schoolchildren.
Masked citizens walk at a shopping street in Vienna, Austria. Photo / AP
Last week it imposed a partial lockdown, with restaurants and pubs forced to close from 8pm and large events banned.
Slovakia, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Europe, banned those without jabs from visiting restaurants, public events or non-essential shops. "It is a lockdown for the unvaccinated," Eduard Heger, the prime minister, said. The Czech Republic has introduced similar measures.
The daily tally of new infections in Italy rose to 10,638 from 10,172. Governors of five of the country's 20 regions are in favour of lockdowns for the unvaccinated but face resistance.
Belgium has reintroduced working from home four days a week in a last-ditch effort to avoid stricter measures.
