German leaders approve new Covid curbs for unvaccinated

Those who have yet to be vaccinated are to face additional restrictions after German leaders held talks on Thursday.

Acting German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chancellor-designate Olaf Scholzspoke with state leaders and agreed on new measures to curb a dramatic spike in coronavirus cases.

Unvaccinated people are to be barred from accessing almost all businesses, except for grocery stores and pharmacies, as Merkel joined Scholz in backing mandatory vaccines.

What are the new restrictions?

Federal and state leaders agreed to the following measures:

• Contact restrictions for unvaccinated individuals
• Entrance to shops, restaurants, museums and movie theaters will be possible for vaccinated or recovered people only
• Additional tests for those who are vaccinated

What is the pandemic situation in Germany?

Germany has seen a record spike in coronavirus cases — with scientists and health care experts criticizing the government for taking action too late.

Up to 6,000 people could be in intensive care units by Christmas, warned the head of the country's intensive care association DIVI on Wednesday.

Just under 69% of Germany's population are fully vaccinated — one of the lowest vaccination rates in western Europe.

Virologists said much of the surge is due to vaccine resistance and skepticism in a large section of society.

While the number of deaths is much lower than it was at its peak last winter, the current number of infections at present is considerably higher — with 74,000 new cases logged on Thursday alone.

Concerns over the new omicron variant are also high, with Germany confirming several cases. Scientists are working to gather data on how transmissible it is and how effective vaccines are against it.

There are signs, however, that the curb could be flattening in Germany, as the seven-day incidence rate among 100,000 residents fell to 439.2 on Thursday — decreasing for the third day in a row.

Source: Deutsche Welle