German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the future chancellor, Olaf Scholz, met Thursday morning and agreed to institute more lockdown measures for unvaccinated people in the country.
Germany’s new measures will bar the unvaccinated from restaurants, pubs, cinemas, gyms, cultural events and non-essential shops, reported The Telegraph.
“We have understood that the situation is very serious and that we want to take further measures in addition to those already taken,” Merkel said at the news conference Thursday, reported U.S. News. & World Report.
The unvaccinated will also reportedly be prevented from entering traditional Christmas markets. Some markets have already been instructed to close. (RELATED: France And Germany Restrict Moderna Vaccine For Those Under 30)
During the meeting, Scholz, who is to replace Merkel as chancellor later in December, did not wish to impose a lockdown for all citizens. He agreed to only institute these additional regulations for the unvaccinated.
Other restrictions have also been put in place that will affect both the vaccinated and unvaccinated Wearing masks in schools will be reinstated, and, in some heavily affected areas, nightclubs will shut down, according to The Telegraph.
BREAKING: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said parliament will consider a general COVID vaccine mandate from February and those who have not had a jab will be excluded from non-essential shops and recreational venues.
Read more here: https://t.co/MKYa5WQKzx pic.twitter.com/OEBsHaNyS2
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 2, 2021
Germany is currently at a 68% fully-vaccinated rate for the whole country. The country is also experiencing a massive surge in cases. Merkel described the fourth wave of COVID-19 as “hitting our country with full force.”
Over the past several weeks, protesters gathered on numerous occasions to fight back against Germany’s COVID-19 measures. During the demonstrations, police reportedly sprayed German protesters with water hoses. Facebook is also suspending certain accounts linked to German anti-lockdown groups. (RELATED: German Official Says Pandemic Lockdown Protestors Across Political Spectrum Are Spreading Anti-Semitism)
Merkel also mentioned that the country was considering instating a nationwide mandate that, if agreed upon, would go into effect in February 2021.
“To do this, the fourth wave must be broken and this has not yet been achieved,” said Merkel.