Germany considers contact restrictions to soften looming COVID-19 wave

BERLIN: Tougher contact restrictions and an accelerated booster campaign are among measures being considered by German leaders ahead of a meeting on Tuesday (Dec 21) aimed at softening the blow of a fifth wave of coronavirus infections.

The government's scientific advisory panel said in a statement on Sunday it was necessary to further limit contact, with data so far showing that boosters alone would not be enough to contain the spread of the virus.

The state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia state, Hendrik Wuest, did not rule out contact restrictions on people who have been fully vaccinated or had a booster shot.

"We should be careful about ruling anything out," he told broadcaster ARD on Monday.

However, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has ruled out a lockdown before Christmas and said he did not expect a "hard lockdown" after the holidays either.

At the same time, Lauterbach called for parliament to decide on mandatory vaccinations as soon as possible to stem the coming waves.

Some 70.3 per cent of Germany's total population are considered fully vaccinated, while 31.5 per cent have received an additional booster shot, according to official figures.

The German Hospital Federation (DKG) has warned the fifth wave could bring a deadly twofold blow of seriously ill patients and massive staff shortages due to coronavirus infections.

"In Britain and Denmark we're seeing that the high infection figures also mean that more healthcare workers are calling in sick due to becoming infected themselves," DKG Chairman Gerald Gass said.

The Robert Koch Institute infectious disease body reported 16,086 new coronavirus cases within 24 hours on Monday, the smallest rise since early November. The death toll increased by 119 on Monday, to reach a total of 108,352.