Germany pushes new COVID measures after disease control head warns of 'terrible Christmas'

German lawmakers passed new steps on Thursday, November 18, to combat record coronavirus infections, following a warning from the head of the country's disease control agency that Germany could face a 'really terrible Christmas.' As per the new order, to gain access to workplaces, workers must show that they have been vaccinated, have recently recovered from COVID-19, or have tested negative for the virus; a similar restriction will apply to people using public transportation. The measures must be approved by Germany's upper house of Parliament, the Bundesrat, which might happen on Friday, November 19.

The Robert Koch Institute, Germany's disease control organisation, recorded 65,371 new daily cases, surpassing the previous 24-hour record and following an escalating trend that specialists had warned about for weeks. The total number of deaths is approaching 100,000, with 264 reported on Wednesday alone.

'Heading toward a serious emergency': Lothar Wieler

According to AP, Robert Koch Institute director Lothar Wieler, during an online debate on Wednesday, said, "We are currently heading toward a serious emergency. We are going to have a really terrible Christmas if we don’t take countermeasures now." Wieler believes that Germany's COVID-19 immunisation rate, which is now at 67.7%, should be much higher than 75%. The eastern state of Saxony, which has the country's lowest immunisation rate of 57.6%, is preparing to impose a limited lockdown in reaction to rising case numbers.

Governor Michael Kretschmer said the state administration would decide on a hard and clear wave breaker for two to three weeks on Friday, AP reported. According to official numbers, Saxony had more than 761 newly confirmed cases per 100,000 people in the previous week, the highest infection rate in Germany. Authorities in neighbouring Austria reported 15,145 fresh confirmed COVID-19 cases in the previous 24 hours, according to authorities on Thursday. The country imposed a lockdown on unvaccinated people this week. But two states - Salzburg and Upper Austria - are poised to extend the measure to vaccinated people as well.

The independent COVID vaccine advisory group in Germany announced on Thursday that booster injections are recommended for all adults above the age of 18. However, it stated that persons over the age of 70, those at risk for other reasons, or those who have not yet had a vaccine should be prioritised. Wieler cautioned that hospitals throughout Germany are struggling to locate beds for COVID-19 patients as well as those suffering from other ailments.

Angela Merkel's party intends to extend existing laws

The reforms were approved in the Bundestag by the centre-left Social Democrats, the environmentalist Greens, and the pro-business Free Democrats. The three political groups are now negotiating the formation of a new administration. Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right Christian Democrats intended to extend existing laws that are set to expire this month and have served as the foundation for various national and state-level limitations since March 2020.

In the future, Germany's 16 states will be able to ban cultural and sporting events only if their regional assemblies approve the move. Moreover, Merkel's party slammed the new laws, saying they will limit the tools at the authorities' disposal at a time when illnesses are on the rise once more. Merkel was scheduled to meet with state governors on Thursday to discuss collaborative measures to combat the virus.

(With inputs from AP, Image: AP)