The latest measures in place in Austria to attempt to curb the spread of coronavirus will remain in place over the festive season, according to Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg.

Around 64% of Austria’s population is completely vaccinated, which is in line with the average in the EU, yet one of the lowest in western Europe.

New daily Covid cases have been soaring, hitting 9,943 on Saturday, surpassing the record of 9,586 from last November. According to the government, a new record is expected within the next few days.

"The evolution is exceptional and the occupancies of intensive-care beds are increasing significantly faster than we had expected," said Schallenberg to a news conference on the new measures that get underway on Monday.

These measures include preventing unvaccinated people from entering hotels and events featuring more than 25 people. There will be a four-week transition period during which a first vaccination as well as a PCR test will allow admission to such locations. After this time, Reuters reports, only fully vaccinated individuals or those who have recently recovered from the virus will be allowed entry, known as the ‘2G’ rule.

This rule stems from the German words for immunised and recovered. A 3G rule has been implemented in workplaces since the beginning of this month, meaning employees must be vaccinated, recovered or tested (geimpft, genesen, getestet).

"I am not assuming that in six weeks the situation will be such that we can take the measures back. So it will probably be a 2G Christmas," Schallenberg told Kronen Zeitung newspaper.

"Most likely we will still have 2G for Christmas and New Year's Eve," Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler added.

On Sunday, Interior Ministry data showed new Covid infections fell slightly to 8,554. Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 883,887 Covid cases have been reported in Austria, and 11,502 fatalities.