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| - 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. On Tuesday Austria said it had recorded more than 1,100 cases of the novel coronavirus and three deaths. Authorities say people throughout the country should leave home only in very limited circumstances such as working -- if it's not possible to work from home -- buying food or helping others. Two communes in Tyrol and one more in Carinthia, both provinces bordering Italy, have already been placed under lockdown. One hard-hit place in Tyrol is the ski station of Ischgl. Many who went to a bar there may have contracted the virus, including hundreds of travellers from Denmark and Norway, according to authorities. jza/pma
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