Austria announced a slate of new restrictions Wednesday aimed at slowing the spread of the omicron variant, including closing restaurants earlier and imposing stricter entry requirements for people from countries where the variant is already dominant.

“Omicron presents us with the next epidemiological challenge,” Katharina Reich, co-leader of the country’s new coronavirus crisis team, said after a meeting between national leaders and state governors. "What we do know is that omicron is fast and we need to react quickly.”

Austria is in a better position than many other European countries when it comes to confronting the new variant. Facing a massive surge of infections in November, the country imposed a three-week lockdown to bring its daily case numbers down.

As a result of those restrictions, which ended for vaccinated people on Dec. 12 but remain for those who have not been vaccinated, case numbers are still dropping.

On Wednesday, the country's 7-day rate of new infections stood at 188.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, down from a high of 1,100 per 100,000 in late November.

Despite the country’s current “good position,” Reich said new restrictions are necessary because omicron “will bring drastic changes to us as well.”

Starting on Dec. 27, restaurants must close at 10 p.m., including on New Year’s Eve. Reich also urged people to rethink their New Year’s celebrations: “Celebrate New Year’s Eve in small groups,” she said.

In addition, officials said they would impose new limits and requirements for large gatherings, which will require proof that attendees are vaccinated or recently recovered.

Indoor and outdoor gatherings without assigned seating will be capped at 25 people. With assigned seating and masks, that number rises to 500; with an additional PCR test, to 1,000. Events at which all attendees have received a vaccine booster dose can handle up to 2,000 people.

Austria also added four European countries — the U.K., Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway — to its list of “virus variant areas,” which comes with stricter entry requirements.

Those who have received a booster vaccine and come with a recent negative PCR test will be allowed entry from those countries without quarantining. Austrian and EU citizens who do not meet those requirements will still be allowed to enter, but will face a mandatory 10-day quarantine.

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Belgium will further tighten coronavirus restrictions because of the surging omicron variant, authorities announced Wednesday, but the country shied away from a full lockdown like in the neighboring Netherlands.

Cinemas, theaters and concert halls will be closed and indoor activities banned in Belgium. Sports fans won't be allowed into stadiums and indoor venues. Shopping will be curtailed with visitors spread out and groups entering a shop limited to two adults, possibly accompanied by children.

Bars and restaurants will be allowed to remain open until 11 p.m. but under limits. And families were advised to keep visitors to a minimum for Christmas but did not face exact limits.

The measures will take effect Sunday. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said “there is reason for concern. We are facing omicron."

He added that “what we know about it is bad news,” referring to omicron's high transmissibility.

“It is a tough package,” virologist Marc Van Ranst said.

But much about the omicron variant remains unknown, including whether it causes more or less severe illness.

The Belgian measures came despite a strong and steady decline in new COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions. The government said, however, that the lightning fast transmission of omicron made it necessary to take action earlier rather than later.

“It will be dominant soon,” said De Croo. “We have to be more careful that ever.”

Emmanuel Andre, who heads Belgium’s COVID-19 reference lab, said omicron represented 27% of new cases, doubling in as many days.

Since last weekend, Belgium's northern neighbor, The Netherlands, has closed all nonessential stores, bars and restaurants until Jan. 14 and shut schools and universities until Jan. 9.

Belgium’s major carnival, in Aalst, was canceled even if the festival drawing tens of thousands of visitors each year was slated for late February.

Belgium's daily new COVID-19 cases have declined 36% over the week ending Sunday, to reach about 8,300 in the nation of 11 million. Hospital admissions have declined 34% to reach 173 a day.

The number of COVID-19 dead has surpassed 28,000.

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is convening a special Cabinet meeting Thursday to pass a law by decree that makes it mandatory to wear masks outdoors, amid a record surge in COVID-19 cases.

Sánchez announced at a meeting with the leaders of regional governments Wednesday that he was consenting to their appeals to extend mask-wearing rules, his office said. A decree-law does not require a debate and vote in parliament before taking effect.

He also announced a raft of other measures, including an offer to deploy the armed forces to help the regions step up their vaccination rollout and put military hospital beds at their disposal if they are needed.

Sánchez said he is targeting 80% of the 60-69 age group to have received booster shots by the end of next week, among other goals.

Also, COVID-19 tests for professional use will temporarily be placed on sale at pharmacies, amid a reported shortage of tests, and medical teams will be reinforced with retired staff and specialists who earned their qualifications outside the European Union.

Furthermore, fully vaccinated people won’t need to quarantine if they have been in contact with an infected person - a measure that seemed to be aimed at avoiding the shortages of essential personnel.

Spain on Tuesday officially recorded almost 50,000 new cases of coronavirus. That’s higher than last January, when a surge placed the national health system under severe strain.

Spain is reporting almost 700 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over 14 days, more than double the accumulated cases before last year’s Christmas holidays. The omicron strain has soared from 5% of new cases in Spain to 47% within one week.

Still, vaccinations are credited with sparing many people from the virus’s worst effects. While last January some 30,000 COVID-19 patients were in the hospital in Spain, now it’s fewer than 8,000.

Sánchez told the Spanish parliament Wednesday that 90% of the target population 12 and over is fully vaccinated.

He told lawmakers: “Don’t worry, families will be able to celebrate Christmas. Spain has prevailed.”