Germany to announce nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated

Those who are unvaccinated are set to be barred from restaurants, pubs, gyms and non-essential shops.

Germany is set to extend Covid restrictions in the country that will effectively mean a lockdown for those who are yet to be vaccinated. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her successor Olaf Scholz are meeting with regional leaders on Thursday to agree to the new measures, which are already in place in several regions across the nation. Scholz had rejected calls for a national lockdown for the entire populations but has agreed to tougher measures for the unvaccinated. Under the new measures, those who have not been vaccinated will be barred from restaurants, pubs, cinemas, gyms, cultural events and non-essential shops. They will also be only allowed to meet in groups of two households. The Telegraph reports that the unvaccinated people will also be barred from Christmas markets. These measures will not apply to those who have been vaccinated. Similar measures had been announced in neighbouring Austria, before the government there announced a full lockdown for all and made vaccines compulsory, sparking large protests and unrest. Related links:

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Just over 68% of the German population have received both doses of the vaccine. But there are some measures being introduced that will impact those who have been jabbed. For example, nightclubs are set to close in the regions experiencing the highest levels of infection and face masks are to be made compulsory in schools. Two days ago, Scholz announced that compulsory vaccination would be put to the German parliament. MPs will be allowed a free vote on the matter, but Schulz said he would be supporting the measure. If passed, vaccination would only be made compulsory once everyone has been offered the chance to get jabbed, and would definitely not be introduced until at least February or March 2022. Angela Merkel will ceremonially bring her 16 years of holding office to an end on Thursday evening, when a military tattoo is held in her honour. Scholz will formally take over as chancellor in the first half of next week, as head of a three-party coalition government.