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German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that people who are unvaccinated will not be allowed in nonessential shops, cultural and recreational venues, AP reports.
State of play: Merkel, alongside incoming Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said the measures were necessary to avoid overflowing hospitals with coronavirus patients. The country is seeing an increase in daily infections.
- Merkel said unvaccinated individuals won't be allowed to go into all businesses except essential ones like grocery stores and pharmacies.
- Germany is also considering a national vaccine mandate that would go into effect in February 2022, Merkel added.
By the numbers: Since the beginning of the pandemic, Germany has recorded 5,977,208 confirmed coronavirus cases and 102,178 deaths.
- On Thursday, 73,209 new cases were recorded, compared to the 67,186 new cases reported Wednesday.
What she's saying: "The situation in our country is serious with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are reaching the limits of the response capacity in our hospitals," Merkel said, according to a translation from DW News.
- She said the restrictive measures are an "act of national solidarity so that we can reduce the rate of infections and ease the burden on our public health systems."