Germany declares a countrywide vaccination moratorium.

To combat the spread of the coronavirus, departing Chancellor Angela Merkel and her successor, Olaf Scholz, said Thursday that unvaccinated persons will be barred from entering all but the most critical enterprises, such as supermarkets and pharmacies.

The two also approved measures for obligatory vaccinations, which, if passed by parliament, could go into force as early as February.

Unvaccinated persons are only allowed to meet two people from another home under the new rules. In places where the incidence rate exceeds 350 cases per 100,000 persons in a week, bars and nightclubs must close. In addition, the government would restrict the number of people who may attend big events such as soccer matches.

The discovery comes as Germany is dealing with a rise in cases that has moved Europe back to the core of the epidemic, raising concerns about the newly identified Omicron variety.

Merkel's final news conference before leaving office later on Thursday is a somber note to close her 16-year tenure as German chancellor.

"We have recognized the gravity of the issue and have decided to take more actions in addition to those already implemented," Merkel told reporters during a press conference on Thursday. "The fourth wave must be broken, which has yet to be done," she continued.

Merkel stated that a countrywide vaccination mandate might take effect in February 2022, following debate in parliament and guidelines from Germany's Ethics Council.

She also stated that persons who have been vaccinated will lose their vaccination status nine months after receiving their last injection, presumably to promote booster immunization.

Europe considers mandates.

If passed, Germany's vaccination requirement would follow in the footsteps of Austria, which aims to make inoculations for eligible people mandatory beginning in February.

In other news, Greece declared that beginning in mid-January, immunizations would be required for individuals over the age of 60. Those who refuse to comply will be fined 100 euros (US $113) every month, according to the authorities.

In the face of a fourth coronavirus outbreak and worries over the Omicron variety revealed by South African health officials last week, European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was time to "possibly look about obligatory vaccination" throughout the EU.

"I would never have imagined seeing what we are seeing right now two or three years ago, that we have this horrific epidemic, that we have the vaccinations, the life-saving vaccines, but they are not being utilized sufficiently everywhere," von der Leyen said at a news conference on Wednesday.

"It is necessary to examine how we can encourage and maybe consider mandatory vaccination inside the European Union. This requires a shared approach, but I believe it is a dialogue that must be led "she continued.

According to the ECDC, Germany and Austria have one of the lowest vaccination rates in Western Europe, with 68.4 percent and 65.6 percent of eligible people vaccinated, respectively.

Cases that are on the rise

The number of cases in Germany is still shattering records, especially in the eastern regions. On Wednesday, the country had its biggest daily death toll in nine months, with 446 Covid-19-related deaths.

Many hospitals are straining to keep up with the rising number of patients requiring acute care. Regardless of any actions taken by Germany's politicians, some 6,000 Covid-19 patients might be in critical care by Christmas, according to the country's Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency (Divi).

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany's national disease and control center, more than 102,000 individuals have died as a result of coronavirus.

Austria stated earlier this month that Covid-19 vaccines will become mandatory for the whole public, a move that was considered inconceivable for a Western democracy.

Governments all around the globe have previously rejected the concept of a universal coronavirus vaccination requirement, preferring instead to use incentives and other "nudges" to encourage people to receive doses. It is not required policy even in totalitarian governments like China.