Austria’s President Alexander Van der Bellen Friday signed a new law requiring those ages 18 and older to get vaccinated for COVID-19, making the country the first in Europe to introduce a national vaccine mandate.

Under the new law, which takes effect the middle of next month, people who cannot show proof of vaccination will face initial fines of $680, which could increase to more than $4,100. The Austrian Health Ministry says there are exemptions for pregnant women and people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.

Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center reports at least 76 percent of Austria’s population is already fully vaccinated.

The measure comes into law as many European nations such as Demark, Sweden and France are relaxing or ending their COVID-19 restrictions altogether. Spain is set to end its outdoor mask-wearing mandate next week. An indoor mask mandate is expected to remain in effect.

Meanwhile, in Japan, the Kyodo news agency reports the nation’s daily COVID-19 cases exceeded 100,000 for the first time late Thursday as the country struggles to contain a sixth wave of infections, driven by the omicron variant of the virus.

The cumulative total of coronavirus cases in Japan had topped 3 million as of Thursday, according to a Kyodo News tally based on local government data. Seriously ill patients climbed by 131 to 1,042 cases from the day before, the health ministry said, the highest since September when the delta variant drove a fifth wave of cases.

Most regions are now under infection control measures to try to blunt the spread of omicron, which has exploded among a population where less than 5% have received vaccine booster shots.

Some information for this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters.

VOA