Austria puts more western communes under lockdown

VIENNA: Austria on Tuesday put more communes in the Alpine west of the country under quarantine amid strict measures nationwide to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. Four communes in the province of Vorarlberg, bordering Switzerland and Germany, were put under lockdown with immediate effect, according to province chief Markus Wallner. The lockdown has been put in place after five people tested positive for the new coronavirus in one of the communes, raising fears that more people have been infected, Wallner said. No one can enter or leave the region until April 3, he said, adding those who have been to the area in the past two weeks also had to self-isolate.