A bill has been passed by Austria's upper house of parliament to make Covid vaccines mandatory for adults, the first country in the EU to do so.

The Bundesrat voted 47-12 in favour of a general vaccination mandate on Thursday. The law states that over 18s who refuse to have a vaccine could face fines of up to €3,600, unless they are seriously ill or pregnant, reports The Guardian.

The mandate is set to be implemented in three stages and is likely to come into effect within a matter of days. However, no checks are due to be carried out until 15th March when police will begin vaccination status verification during regular patrols. More comprehensive checks will be undertaken in the third phase at a later date, once a vaccination register is in place.

"I hope that we will not need Phase 3 at all. If (health) experts say that in their assessment it is not necessary, if constitutional lawyers say it is not proportionate, Phase 3 will not happen," Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein told ORF radio.

In contrast, the conservative-Greens coalition government has at the same time relaxed restrictions for the unvaccinated. The lockdown for the unvaccinated was eased on Monday, meaning bars, restaurants, shops and hotels across Austria will soon be permitted to welcome people who haven’t had the vaccine, as long as they provide a recent negative test result. "We came to the conclusion that the lockdown for unvaccinated people in Austria is only justifiable in the event of the threat of an imminent over-burdening of intensive-care capacity," the Health Minister said at the time. 

Having been cleared by the Upper House, the bill now needs to be signed by President Alexander Van der Bellen and Chancellor Karl Nehammer, then it will come into force, Reuters reports.