vienna to protest the country's strict covid-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates. but at a news conference saturday, austrian chancellor karl nihammer announced some of those coronavirus measures will ease up soon, especially those targeting the unvaccinated. he said, as of february 12 people who are not vaccinated will no longer be barred from nonessential shops, and the following week will be able to go to restaurants and other tourist attractions if they have proof of recovery or a negative coronavirus test. last week the government said it was lifting the lockdown restrictions on the unvaccinated on monday. since november, they have only been able to leave their homes for essential reasons like work or buying food. officials say even though infections remain high, the number of people hospitalized has dropped which has allowed them to relax some of the rules. one thing that isn't changing, the country's vaccine mandate