Austrian health minister resigns

"I have felt in the past months how hard that all has been," the Oesterreich paper quoted him as saying, adding he had been subject of threats and could not leave his home without police protection.

Greens leader and Vice-Chancelor Werner Kogler said he would propose Johannes Rauch, an official in Vorarlberg province, as new health minister.

Austria, which angered thousands by passing a law making COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory, plans to lift most of its remaining pandemic restrictions by March 5.