Angela Merkel is pushing for “severe restrictions” for the unvaccinated as Germany struggles with its highest infection rates since a third wave hit in April.
Some German states have already begun introducing “lockdown-lite” measures for those who have declined the jab. In one region they are effectively banned from indoor public spaces such as restaurants, cinemas, bars and theatres, and in another they are only permitted to gather in small groups.
The chancellor has argued that similar steps should be adopted across the country in an effort to boost the stubbornly low level of vaccination and slow the spread of Covid-19.
Concern is growing about the prospect of another punishing winter. The number of infections recorded each day has doubled since mid-October and is higher now than it was at this point in 2020. Hospitals in many parts of Germany have warned they could soon be overwhelmed.
The situation is not yet desperate: vaccination has so far kept the number of deaths reported each day relatively low. The closely watched seven-day incidence rate has actually fallen a little over the past week, to 147 new cases per 100,000 people.
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Today, however, Jens Spahn, 41, the health minister, warned that Germany was going through a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” as the disease propagates rapidly through the 33 per cent of the population that has yet to be jabbed. Merkel, 67, is said to have been “particularly shaken” by the case of a nursing home in Werbellinsee, near Berlin, where 14 residents died. Half of the staff had not been vaccinated.
The chancellor favours tightening the country’s “3G” rule, under which people must prove they are vaccinated, recovered or tested (geimpft, genesen or getestet) in order to enter most indoor public venues.
Yesterday, the state of Saxony imposed a stricter “2G” system, meaning only the vaccinated and the recently recovered can go into spaces such as restaurants or football stadiums. Merkel’s spokesman said this was a “logical” way forward.
In Baden-Württemberg, meanwhile, unvaccinated people will instead have to obtain a negative PCR test result — at considerable expense — for these recreational activities. They will also only be allowed to meet five other unvaccinated people from outside their household at the same time.
A further worry is that the immunity of those who have had the jab will soon begin to wane. The booster campaign has so far been relatively limited, with only 3 million doses administered to date.
