German state and national leaders agreed on Thursday to a series of steps to encourage vaccination pick-up as the country fights off a record-setting fourth wave of the coronavirus.
Under the plan, leisure, culture, sport facilities and outlets serving food would be only accessible to the fully vaccinated or those who have recovered from a coronavirus infection if case counts remain high.
The rules would kick in – as they have already done in many parts of the country – when the hospitalization rate in the state hits three. In other words: three people hospitalized with a coronavirus-related infection per 100,000 people in the past week.
If the rate stays below three for five days in a row, the restrictions can be eased. Children under 18 years old – the vast majority of whom are not vaccinated – are exempt from the rule.
If the rate rises above six, then even those who are vaccinated or who have recovered from Covid-19 will have to produce a negative coronavirus test to access public facilities.
Should the hospitalization rate breach the level of nine, states are allowed to impose yet tougher restrictions. Two German states, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, are already in double digits according to data compiled by the infectious diseases agency, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Bavaria is at 8.65.
“We are in a very serious situation,” said Chancellor Angela Merkel. “It is really absolutely time for action.”
People who work in a variety of fields, including hospitals and care homes, will be expected to get vaccinated. The requirement for vaccination will depend on how much contact a worker has with at-risk individuals, said Hendrik Wuest, the head of the conference of state premiers.
Wuest promised a national push on vaccinations, with a massive increase in vaccination capabilities. The goal is to make sure everyone gets a booster shot starting five months after their initial vaccination.
That will mean mobile vaccination teams working in tandem with vaccination centres, hospitals, private practices and workplace physicians, among others, to get jabs in arms. It’s also expected that, in the coming weeks, vaccinations will be approved for children as young as 5. Right now, the cut-off is 12 and up, except for special circumstances.
Financial aid for German businesses particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic will also be extended through March.
The decisions from the meeting between federal and state leaders still need to be written into law, some at the state level, some at the federal level. The meeting came hours after the country’s parliament passed new, separate legislation laying out what measures are allowed to be used to control the pandemic.
If passed, the new regulations will expand measures for the workplace, public transport and care homes, but rule out closing schools or businesses. They also impose severe penalties on those evading restrictions.
The RKI announced 65,371 new infections on Thursday, surpassing the 60,000-mark for the first time. The seven-day incidence was 336.9 per 100,000 of the population, up from 249.1 a week ago and just 74.4 a month ago.
“We will have an extremely unpleasant Christmas if we do not act to stop this,” RKI president Lothar Wieler said.
Earlier in parliament, members of Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) had criticized the new plans, saying they were insufficient replacement measures for emergency pandemic provisions currently in place. These are set to expire in a week’s time.
But Olaf Scholz of the Social Democrats (SPD), who aims to head a new coalition government in partnership with the Greens and the pro-business FDP, defended the measures passed by the Bundestag on Thursday.
During a vigorous debate, Sabine Dittmar, health spokesman for the SPD, which is leading the coalition talks, said the parties were reacting with necessary and legally secure measures.
Speaking for the CDU, Thorsten Frei called instead for the expiring emergency measures to be extended and said the new provisions would remove powers from state-level governments.
The new measures must still go to the upper house, where approval is far from certain.
A survey by German broadcasters RTL and ntv showed that 57 per cent of respondents approve of plans to force people who aren’t vaccinated to stay indoors. About 64 per cent said they approved of vaccination requirements.
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