BERLIN—Austria will end its lockdown for unvaccinated residents next Monday—one day before a COVID-19 vaccine mandate takes effect in the country, the country’s chancellor announced Wednesday. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said the measure, which was introduced in November, was no longer needed because there were no threat of hospital intensive care units being overstretched. For weeks, the lockdown for the unvaccinated has been “a measure that many people complained about, but that was unavoidable for health policy reasons,” Nehammer said, according to Austrian news agency APA. On Feb. 1, a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for adults—the first of its kind in Europe—will take effect in the small Alpine country. Officials have said the mandate is necessary because vaccination rates remain too low. They say it will ensure that Austria’s hospitals are not overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. So far, 75.4 percent of the country’s residents have been fully vaccinated. “Despite relaxations, caution …