Germany partially excludes unexcused public life

The German Chancellor said that the unexcused would not have the right to act in -- such as going to cultural or sports environments, as well as shops that do not trade essential products for life.

Speaking after a meeting with the heads of federal government and countries, Merkel said the measures were necessary, given that hospitals in Germany could be overloaded by the infected. The effects of infection can be extremely serious for the unexplored.

The pandemic situation in our country is serious”, Merkel told reporters.

“Hospitals are in a serious situation where patients need to be moved. We talked about an act of national solidarity to reduce the rate of infections and not overload our health system. ”

The outgoing Chancellor said officials agreed to use masks in schools, impose new restrictions on private meetings and target 30 million vaccines by the end of the year. Dentists and pharmacists will be included amid Germany's efforts to offer vaccines.

The Chancellor backed the highly controversial proposal for mandatory population vaculation. She said parliament will debate the proposal by consulting the national ethics commission.

If approved, the move would take effect in February, Chancellor Merkel said, adding that her vote would have been pro if she were still a member of parliament.

About 68.7% of Germany's population is fully vaccinated, far from the minimum of 75% targeting Berlin.

In Germany there have been major protests against measures against pandemic. Also, mandatory vaccines are likely to be rejected, though polls show most Germans favour inoculation.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who is expected to be elected next week to the post of Chancellor by a centre-left coalition, has also supported forced population vaculation. But he prefers lawmakers to vote on the matter according to their personal beliefs and not on the basis of party lines.