Germany locks unvaccinated out of public life; mandate looms
The Hindu
“The situation in our country is serious,” Ms. Merkel told reporters in Berlin, calling the measures an “act of national solidarity”
Unvaccinated people across Germany will soon be excluded from nonessential stores, restaurants and sports and cultural venues, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on December 2, and parliament will consider a general vaccine mandate as part of efforts to curb infections.
Ms. Merkel announced the measures after a meeting with federal and State leaders, as the nation again topped 70,000 newly confirmed cases in a 24-hour period. She said the steps were necessary to address concerns that hospitals could become overloaded with patients suffering from COVID-19 infections, which are much more likely to be serious in people who have not been vaccinated.
“The situation in our country is serious,” Ms. Merkel told reporters in Berlin, calling the measures an “act of national solidarity.”
As speculation over the continuation of Minister for Scheduled Tribes Welfare B. Nagendra in the Cabinet persisted, with the demand for his resignation raised by the BJP in connection with the ₹94 crore scam at the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, his Cabinet colleagues came to his defence on Thursday.