Europe tightens the unvaccinated as COVID-19 cases rise

London (CNN) – Europe’s leaders are hardening their stances towards people not vaccinated against COVID-19 and adopting measures that increasingly isolate them from the rest of society. This, as frustration grows over the stagnation of vaccination and the wave of COVID-19 infections on the continent.

Germany may become the next country to impose stricter rules on those who have not been fully vaccinated, after the parties that make up its potential new coalition government toughened up their proposed covid-19 approach in Parliament.

The proposed measures would require Germans to provide proof of vaccination or a negative test to travel by bus or train, in an expansion of the country’s “3G” system that already requires it to enter certain places and settings.

Green Party co-leader Robert Habeck told the public broadcaster ARD on Sunday the rules in effect amount to a “lockdown for the unvaccinated.”

The policy document of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Greens will be put to a vote in the Bundestag, this while the three parties, known as “semaphore” because of the colors that identify them, get closer to the formation of a new government.

New wave of covid-19 infections in Europe

This comes as Germany faces a wave of infections and reflects growing exasperation across much of the EU over those who continue to refuse to be vaccinated.

About two-thirds of Germans are fully vaccinated, one of the lowest rates in Western Europe, and the country’s top politicians have resorted to harsh rhetoric and restrictive measures in an effort to raise the rate.

Meanwhile, infections are increasing at a rapid rate. The country is approaching a seven-day moving average of 40,000 new cases per day, its highest rate since the pandemic began and more than double the number in early November.

New restrictions for unvaccinated people went into effect Monday in the capital Berlin. Proof of complete vaccination or recovery from covid-19 in the last 6 months is required to enter bars, restaurants, cinemas and other entertainment venues. But the current wave of infections is mainly affecting the southern and eastern parts of the country, where the vaccination rate is lower.

Confinement in Austria

If the measures proposed by the coalition materialize, they would bring Germany closer to its southern neighbor, Austria, where a lockdown specifically targeting unvaccinated people went into effect on Monday. It prohibits unvaccinated people, more than a third of the country’s population, from leaving their homes, except for a few specific reasons.

The measures are being applied by police officers who carry out on-the-spot checks. They were released along with a series of stern warnings from the country’s new chancellor, Alexander Schallenberg. He called the national vaccination rate “embarrassingly low.” And he said those who are not vaccinated now will have to experience “exactly what we all had to go through in 2020.”

Austria, where the vaccination rate is lower than Germany, is experiencing an intense wave of infections. By contrast, Spain and Portugal have avoided the brunt of the winter wave after posting the highest vaccination rates in Europe.

Britain to demand booster covid-19 vaccines

Other nations in Europe are taking measures designed to improve the vaccination rate. On Monday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson almost confirmed that a third booster dose would soon be required to consider someone fully vaccinated.

“It is very clear that getting three doses (getting the booster) will become an important event and make your life easier in many ways. And we will have to adjust our concept of what constitutes a complete vaccination to take that into account,” Johnson said in a press conference.

That step has already been taken in France, where cases are increasing. The country introduced stricter entry rules this week for unvaccinated travelers from 16 EU countries.

Protests in Greece

Tensions are rising in some parts of the bloc.

In Athens, workers in the public health sector protested over wages and conditions on Monday amid mounting pressure on Greek hospitals.

Greece has released record numbers of Covid-19 cases on several occasions this month. The country made vaccinations mandatory for healthcare personnel in July. But protesters say the move caused a staffing delay that has not been fixed, Reuters reported.

“Stretchers in on-call hospitals are increasing by the dozens, (and) patients are being chosen for intensive care units by priority, based on their ages,” Michalis Giannakos, president of the Federation of Public Hospital Workers, told Reuters. .