Germany imposes curbs on unvaccinated, to make shots mandatory

FILE PHOTO: People walk by a COVID-19 testing station on the shopping street Kurfuerstendamm, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Berlin, Germany, December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany on Thursday imposed restrictions on the unvaccinated as it sought to break a dramatic surge in daily coronavirus infections exacerbated by the discovery of the Omicron strain.

Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel and her successor Olaf Scholz agreed with leaders of Germany's 16 states to bar the unvaccinated from access to all but the most essential businesses such as grocery stores, pharmacies and bakeries.