![]() The sale of fireworks for New Year's Eve will be banned with the intention of discouraging crowds to gather, Merkel added. Nightclubs will also be close in high-infection areas, schoolchildren will be forced to wear masks, and outdoor sporting events will be limited to a maximum of 50 per cent capacity. Other lockdown measures include limiting both public and private gatherings attended by the unvaccinated to a maximum of four people from two households. the health system is coming to the brink of overload.' 'We all hoped that volunteering would be better accepted. Speaking alongside incoming Chancellor Olaf Scholz who has also signalled his support for the move, she said: 'If I were in the Bundestag, I would vote for it. Greece is also making jabs compulsory for over-60s. That would take Germany in line with Austria, which brings in mandatory vaccinations from February. The Bundestag will also begin debating a vaccine mandate as soon as possible with a view to making it law by February next year, Merkel added. The outgoing Chancellor said that un-jabbed people will soon be barred from non-essential shops and all cultural and leisure facilities, with only those who have got their shots or been infected with Covid allowed to enter. Greece has announced mandatory jabs for over 60s, with unvaccinated people facing fines if they don't comply.ĮU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday it was time for the bloc to "think about mandatory vaccination" against Covid, though she also stressed it was up to individual states to make the decision.Germany will lock down its unvaccinated citizens while parliament debates making jabs mandatory, Angela Merkel said as she threw her weight behind the move today. Germany already announced plans earlier this month to require health workers and soldiers to get inoculated against Covid-19.Įxpanding that to the general public would see the country follow the example of neighbouring Austria, which is planning mandatory vaccinations from February. Merkel's outgoing government had always ruled out mandatory vaccination, but the measure is now backed by politicians from across the spectrum. Some experts have blamed Germany's fourth wave on its relatively low vaccination rate of around 68 percent, compared with fellow EU countries such as Spain at 79 percent and Portugal at 86 percent. Several hard-hit German regions have already cancelled Christmas markets and barred the unvaccinated from public spaces like gyms and leisure facilities to slow the pandemic spread.īut critics say the patchwork of rules is confusing, and Thursday's emergency talks were aimed at coming up with nationwide rules. "From the point of view of intensive and emergency medicine, the pandemic situation has never been as threatening and serious as it is today," the DIVI intensive care association warned on Wednesday, calling for a drastic tightening of restrictions. Though Germany's seven-day incidence rate has fallen slightly this week, it still stood at 439.2 on Thursday, with 73,209 new cases recorded in the past 24 hours. Infections have smashed German records in recent weeks and hospitals are sounding the alarm, with many over capacity and forced to dispatch patients elsewhere in the country for treatment. "You can see from the decisions that we have understood the situation is very serious," Merkel said, adding that the measures should be seen as "minimum standards" and different regions could also impose their own tougher curbs. Health Minister Jens Spahn, in a caretaker role ahead of the planned swearing in of a new government next week, told the ZDF broadcaster that Germany needed "a lockdown, so to speak, for the unvaccinated". The agreement also includes new restrictions on large gatherings, which would affect events such as Bundesliga football matches, and the closure of nightclubs in areas with a weekly incidence rate above 350 infections per 100,000 people.įireworks will be banned on New Year's Eve to stop large crowds from gathering, according to North Rhine-Westphalia state premier Hendrik Wuest. The unimmunised will also be banned from Christmas markets, as well as being hit by contact restrictions limiting the number of people they can socialise with. ![]() ![]() The plans include a blanket ban on entering venues including bars, restaurants and cinemas for anyone who has not been vaccinated or recovered from Covid, according to a document signed off by the leaders. Merkel, her designated successor Olaf Scholz and the leaders of 16 states tightened Covid restrictions just two weeks ago, but met again on Thursday to discuss tougher measures. "Given the situation, I think it is appropriate to adopt compulsory vaccination," she said.
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