Germany is preparing to keep Christmas, but as the Omicron variant sweeps across Europe, it triggers stricter measures from Sweden to Spain, and re-implements stricter social contact rules before the new year.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with 16 state leaders in the country on Tuesday to decide on new measures, which may include banning gatherings of more than 10 vaccinated people, closing clubs and discos, and Large-scale sports events are held behind closed doors.
Children under the age of 14 will not be subject to these regulations, which are not expected to take effect until December 28. People who have not been vaccinated can only meet up to two people from outside their homes.
The authorities have scrambled to speed up the boosting movement in the country. They inject about 1 million shots a day, but they are still dissatisfied with the relatively low number of people receiving the first and second doses (70.3%).
The number of new infections and deaths has declined in the past week, but health experts have repeatedly stated that this does not mean that the situation is alleviating because the number of daily deaths and hospitalizations is still high.
The Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases has called for “maximum restrictions on contact.” It also recommends reducing travel to a minimum, speeding up vaccination campaigns and ensuring that adequate free coronavirus tests are provided.