Germany mulls full lockdown, vaccine mandate

German officials are mulling the possibility of enacting stricter coronavirus restrictions across the country amid a surge in daily infections.

Chancellor Angela Merkel called on German state heads to decide whether to opt in to a full lockdown and vaccine mandate by Wednesday, according to CNBC.

On Tuesday, health minister Jens Spahn starkly warned citizens that “pretty much everyone in Germany will be vaccinated, recovered or dead” by the end of this winter while calling for more restrictions to be put in place. He also called for more public places to implement the “3G rule,” or to limit access to only those who are vaccinated, have had a negative COVID-19 test or recently recovered from the virus, CNBC reported.

Multiple German states are currently operating under “2G rules,” which restrict access to movie theaters, bars and restaurants to patrons who are vaccinated or have recently recovered from COVID-19, CNBC reported.

Only about 68 percent of the German population has reportedly been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, on the lower side of European rates.

“We’ve reached a point at which we must clearly say that we need de facto compulsory vaccination and a lockdown for the unvaccinated,” Tilman Kuban, head of the youth wing of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, said in an interview published on Sunday.

Some German states have already begun to call for medical workers and health care staff to be required to get vaccinated. It is a move that is being considered by the federal government, CNBC noted.

On Tuesday, Germany’s Defense Ministry announced that the military will make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for troops.