Germany limits public gatherings on unvaccinated

The big picture: Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday the move to enforce COVID restrictions is necessary to tackle a "very worrying" fourth wave of the pandemic, per Reuters.

• Access to public, cultural, sports events and restaurants will be restricted to people who have been vaccinated or who have recovered in places where hospitalization rates exceed a certain threshold.
• The German government will also consider a request by regional governments for legislation to require care and hospital workers to be vaccinated, Merkel said.
• "Many of the measures that are now needed would not have been needed if more people were vaccinated. And it isn't too late to get vaccinated now," Merkel said.
• The Munich Christkindlmarkt, one of Germany’s oldest and biggest Christmas markets, was canceled Wednesday for a second year due to surging cases in the country, per the New York Times.

Of note: Austria's government said Thursday that a full lockdown may be needed as its COVID infections are rising despite the current lockdown for unvaccinated, Reuters reports.

Go deeper: World gets tough on the unvaccinated