CRISIS POINT
Germany to enforce LOCKDOWN for unvaccinated needed as Covid fourth wave wreaks havoc
GERMANY is set to ban people who are not fully jabbed from shops, pubs and restaurants in what has been dubbed as a "lockdown for the unvaccinated".
The draconian measures comes as Germany battles a record number of infections amid a fourth Covid wave, with intensive care units set to reach capacity by Christmas.
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Under the emergency plans being unvaccinated counts as people or have not had two jabs — or their third booster one if they had their second more than nine months ago.
Those who do not have proof of fully vaccinated status, such as on an app, would be barred from entering public venues.
This includes bars, restaurants, theatres, cinemas, non-essential shops and only be able to socialise with a limited number of people.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the measures were necessary in light of concerns that hospitals could become overloaded with people suffering Covid-19 infections, which are more likely to be serious in those who haven't been vaccinated.
She told reporters: "We have understood that the situation is very serious and that we want to take further measures in addition to those already taken.
"To do this, the fourth wave must be broken and this has not yet been achieved.”
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The new measures, which have been dubbed a lockdown for the unvaccinated, would come in from February.
Yesterday, Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Olaf Scholz said he would like to see mandatory Covid vaccinations rolled out, beginning in “February or March”.
Many experts have partly blamed Germany's fourth wave on its relatively low vaccination rate of around 68 per cent, compared to fellow EU countries such as Spain at 79 per cent and Portugal at 86 per cent.
🔵 Read our Omicron variant live blog for the latest news
Other emergency measures include new restrictions on large gatherings, which would affect events such as Bundesliga football matches, and the closure of nightclubs in areas with a weekly incidence rate above 350 infections per 100,000 people.
Fireworks will be banned on New Year's Eve to stop large crowds from gathering, according to North Rhine-Westphalia state premier Hendrik Wuest.
It comes after the discovery of a new, highly mutated, Omicron variant, first reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) by South Africa on November 24, which has spread worldwide rapidly.
It is feared Omicron could cause over half of Europe's Covid cases in the "next few months".
More than two dozen countries and territories have now detected cases, extending to India on today and the United States yesterday.
TOUGH MEASURES IMPOSED
The WHO has cautioned that it could take weeks to discover if Omicron is more transmissible, and whether it causes more severe disease — as well as how effective current treatments and vaccines are against it.
But its detection and spread represent a fresh challenge to global efforts to battle the pandemic with several nations already re-imposing restrictions many had hoped were a thing of the past.
In Greece, those who are over the age of 60 and refuse coronavirus vaccinations, could be hit with monthly fines of more than one-quarter of their pensions a get-tough policy that the country's politicians say will cost votes but save lives.
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In Israel, potential carriers of the new Omicron variant could be tracked by the nation's domestic security agency.
Weekly protests in the Netherlands over the country's 5pm lockdown and other new restrictions have descended into violence, despite what appears to be overwhelming acceptance of the rules.
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Dr Jenny Harries warns British families to limit socialising this Christmas amid Omicron Covid variant spread
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