Germany to tighten COVID-19 restrictions amid spike in cases

by Monique Beals - 11/18/21 5:08 PM ET

Lawmakers in Germany moved to enhance COVID-19 restrictions as the country endures a record-setting spike in new infections.

On Thursday, lawmakers approved a bill restricting in-person work and the use of public transit in the country to only those who have been vaccinated, recovered from a COVID-19 infection, or tested negative for the virus, according to The New York Times. The bill also mandates that employers allow workers to do their jobs remotely when possible.

The legislation comes after Germany recorded another new high in COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the Times reported. Sixty-five thousand new cases were reported, marking a 60 percent increase from figures two weeks prior.

Before enforcement of the new policies can begin, the leaders of Germany’s 16 states must first approve them, per the Times. That approval is expected to happen Friday.

The bill was proposed last week, and since then, some of its policies have already been made more strict after critics said the measures would not be sufficient to slow the spread of the virus, the Times added.

The director of Germany’s disease control agency warned Thursday that the country could have a “really terrible Christmas” if it doesn’t take steps to combat the surge in COVID-19 cases.

“We are currently heading toward a serious emergency,” Lothar Wieler, director of the Robert Koch Institute, said. “We are going to have a really terrible Christmas if we don’t take countermeasures now.”

Sixty-seven percent of Germany’s population is currently vaccinated against COVID-19, but Wieler said that rate needs to be above 75 percent.

Tags COVID-19 covid-19 restrictions Germany