Germany to lock down unvaccinated people with sweeping restrictions



Germany will impose sweeping new restrictions against unvaccinated people in response to rising coronavirus cases, authorities said Thursday.

Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel and her successor, Olaf Scholz, announced that unvaccinated people will be prohibited from entering public places like theaters, cinemas, and restaurants unless they've recently recovered from COVID-19. Private gatherings that include unvaccinated people who have not recently recovered from the disease will be restricted to one household and a maximum of two individuals from a different household.

“Culture and leisure nationwide will be open only to those who have been vaccinated or recovered,” Merkel said. "We have understood that the situation is very serious and that we want to take further measures in addition to those already taken.”

Large events will also face new restrictions. The number of spectators who attend an indoor event cannot exceed 5,000, while outdoor events will be capped at 10,000 people. Only vaccinated people will be allowed to attend these events, Politico reported Wednesday.

In areas of the country that report more than 350 new infections per 100,000 people over seven days, indoor nightclubs will be forced to close and mask mandates will be put into effect in schools for students of all ages.

Merkel also said that a nationwide vaccine mandate could be imposed in February 2022, once Parliament votes to approve such a measure.

She added that vaccinated people will lose their vaccination status nine months after getting their last shot, in an apparent attempt to force people to take booster shots.

The restrictions come as coronavirus cases are surging in Germany. On Thursday, Germany reported 73,000 new COVID-19 cases and 388 deaths. The day before, health officials reported 67,186 new infections and 446 deaths — the highest number of daily deaths reported in nine months.

Currently, 68.7% of the country's population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, short of the government's goal of 75%.

Merkel described the new restrictions as an "act of national solidarity" that will "get the infection rate down and take the pressure off our health system."

"The number of infections has stabilized, but on a far too high a level," she said.

Several European countries are adopting vaccine mandates, including Austria and Greece, and the European Union is considering a bloc-wide mandate.

European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday the EU should "potentially think about mandatory vaccination" as concerns grow over the Omicron variant discovered in South Africa last week.

"Two or three years ago, I would never have thought to witness what we see right now, that we have this horrible pandemic, we have the vaccines, the life-saving vaccines, but they are not being used adequately everywhere," von der Leyen told reporters.

"How we can encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union, this needs discussion. This needs a common approach, but it is a discussion that I think has to be led," she added.

Austria imposes full national lockdown, will become first European country to require COVID vaccinations for all eligible citizens



Amid rising COVID-19 cases, Austria announced it would implement a full national lockdown. The country will also require COVID-19 vaccinations for all eligible citizens – the first such measure in Europe.

Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced the latest lockdown and compulsory COVID-19 vaccinations on Friday after meeting the governors of Austria's nine provinces.

"We don't want a fifth wave. We don't want a sixth and seventh wave," Schallenberg said at a press conference. "We have not succeeded in convincing enough people to get vaccinated. It hurts that such measures still have to be taken."

"We have not managed to get enough unvaccinated people to get vaccinated. The most recent measures have increased daily vaccinations but not enough. For a long time, it was consensus in the country that a vaccine mandate is not necessary, but we have to face reality," Schallenberg — who was named chancellor last month after the resignation of his predecessor Sebastian Kurz over corruption accusations — said.

"This is a dramatic step," Schallenberg continued. "In the long term, the way out of this vicious circle we are in — and it is a vicious circle, we are stumbling from wave to lockdown, and that can't carry on ad infinitum — is only vaccination."

Starting on Feb. 1, Austria will make vaccinations mandatory – the most stringent measure to attempt to control the coronavirus pandemic through vaccination in Europe and of all Western countries. According to Reuters, the other countries that have vaccine mandates for all eligible adult citizens are Indonesia, Micronesia, and Turkmenistan.

Of Austria's population of 9 million, 65% are fully vaccinated.

The national lockdown goes into effect Monday. The stay-at-home order will initially last for 10 days, but can be extended for a maximum of 20 days if cases don't diminish sufficiently.

"Austrians will be asked to work from home, non-essential shops will close, and schools will remain open for children who require face-to-face learning," the BBC reported.

Austria launched a lockdown for unvaccinated people last week, but expanded the order to everyone after cases spiked.

A record 15,145 cases were reported in Austria on Thursday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. In the past week, there were a record 88,315 cases. There were 55 reported COVID-19 deaths on Thursday and 302 deaths in the last week. The highest daily death toll during the pandemic in Austria was 218 on Dec. 17, 2020. The deadliest week was Dec. 13–Dec. 19, 2020, with 878 fatalities.

Austria is one of many European countries with surging COVID-19 cases. Germany experienced a record 68,366 coronavirus cases on Wednesday. The Czech Republic had a pandemic-high 22,585 cases on Wednesday. The Netherlands hit a record 23,641 cases on Thursday. Belgium had a record 32,708 cases on Nov. 3. As of yet, the record cases have not equated to record deaths.


Because of the latest COVID-19 wave sweeping Europe, countries have reimplemented coronavirus restrictions. Last week, the Netherlands established a partial three-week lockdown that closed down bars, restaurants, and supermarkets at 8 p.m.; sporting events will be played in empty stadiums. The government recommends no more than four visitors to one home.

On Wednesday, Belgium announced it would require employees to work from home four days a week into mid-December, Bloomberg reported.

Germany will implement restrictions for unvaccinated people. In areas with a hospitalization rate of more than three coronavirus patients per 100,000 people over the past seven days, only the vaccinated and those who have recovered from coronavirus will be permitted to access to public spaces like sporting events, cultural shows, and restaurants.

Even Sweden – which has pushed back against most COVID-19 restrictions – said it would introduce coronavirus vaccine passes next month for indoor events where more than 100 people attend.