German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that people who are not vaccinated will be excluded from non-essential shops, cultural and recreational venues, and parliament will consider a general vaccine mandate, as part of an effort to curb coronavirus infections that again topped 70,000 newly confirmed cases in a 24-hour period.
Speaking after a meeting with federal and state leaders, Merkel the measures were necessary in light of concerns that hospitals in Germany could become overloaded with people suffering COVID-19 infections, which are more likely to be serious in those who haven’t been vaccinated.
“The situation is our country is serious,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin, calling the measure an “act of national solidarity.”
Germany continues to see a record-breaking number of cases, particularly in its eastern states. On Wednesday, the country recorded 446 Covid-19 related deaths — its highest number of daily deaths in nine months.
Many hospitals are struggling to
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