Germany could impose mandatory vaccination against Covid-19 from February, Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel has stated. The government in Berlin has announced new restrictions on people, who have not been vaccinated or recovered from the disease, British news portal The Guardian wrote.
On Thursday, December 2, Merkel held a meeting with her successor Olaf Scholz and Germany’s 16 state leaders for emergency talks on tougher measures to stem rocketing Covid-19 cases of the fourth wave of the coronavirus in Germany.
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«Given the situation, I think it is appropriate to adopt compulsory vaccination,» the outgoing Chancellor said. She noted that Germany’s ethics council would issue formal guidance on a vaccine mandate, and the Bundestag would vote on the legislation by the end of the year.
Merkel also announced a blanket ban on people without Covid-19 immunity from entering bars, restaurants, theatres, cinemas and other leisure venues, as well as non-essential shops and Christmas markets. In areas where the incidence rate exceeds 350 per 100,000 people, discos and nightclubs would close, if legislators pass the rules in the coming days, The Guardian reports.