Berlin to ban unvaccinated from entertainment venues as Germany reports 50,000 COVID cases

Amid the looming danger of the fourth wave of the COVID pandemic, German authorities have decided to impose a ban on unvaccinated people from entering restaurants, bars, cinemas, and other entertainment venues in the capital of Germany, Berlin, CNN reported. This came a day after the country recorded over 50,000 COVID cases, which is the highest number for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. The ban on unvaccinated people will come into effect on Monday, November 15, 2021. 

Berlin intorduces '2G' rule 

Earlier on Wednesday, Berlin's Senate announced an expansion of the so-called '2G' rules that bar people without two jabs from entry. To curtail the spread of the hyper-contagious delta variant, officials have introduced a number of new rules, including restrictions on outdoor activities, setting a limit of no more than 2,000 visitors, and a full ban on unvaccinated adults. Meanwhile, the sudden surge in COVID cases has also escalated concerns for the government.

Recently, in a video message, Chancellor Angela Merkel urged the people of Germany to get vaccinated and also highlighted the need for an increased vaccination drive. "In Germany, I must say, unfortunately, that our vaccination rate isn't high enough to prevent the fast spread of the virus," said Merkel.

Among other European countries, the vaccination rate in Germany is marginally lower. Of the 83 million population, only 66% of people have received the COVID vaccine, meaning one in three people is unvaccinated. Due to the slow rollout of the vaccine, cases of infection have surged in recent days. The country's seven-day incidence rate rose to 249.1 cases per 100,000 people on Thursday, followed by 235 deaths, which tallied to 97,198 death cases.

Germany experiencing massive 'pandemic of unvaccinated', says Health Minister

The country is facing the threat of the fourth wave of the COVID pandemic, which is likely to be caused by an unvaccinated population. Recently, Health Minister Jens Spahn stated that Germany was experiencing a "massive" pandemic of the unvaccinated, which is an early signal that the authorities this time are targeting the unprotected population to be a part of the vaccine drive. According to a CNN report, on Wednesday, Markel called for a meeting of the country's 16 federal state premiers "as quickly as possible" to ensure "harmonious" measures at the national level.

While the country's new parliament is discussing whether to hand over some power to the regional leaders to curtail the spread of COVID. Germany's vaccine committee also noted that the larger population of unvaccinated people is the younger generation, which is likely to suffer less severe illnesses but could easily spread the virus among the elderly with weaker immunity, leaving them in critical condition. "Even if another vaccine was previously used, further vaccinations should be given with Comirnaty [Pfizer/BioNTech]," reported CNN, citing STIKO.

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