No lockdown before Christmas, Germany says

FILE PHOTO: Passengers wear face masks as they wait for an S-Bahn commuter train on the platform at Friedrichstrasse station during lockdown amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Berlin, Germany February 5, 2021. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany's health minister Karl Lauterbach ruled out a Christmas lockdown on Sunday but warned a fifth COVID-19 wave could no longer be stopped and backed mandatory vaccination as the only way to stop the pandemic.

"There will not be a lockdown before Christmas here. But we will get a fifth wave - we have crossed a critical number of Omicron infections," Lauterbach said, speaking on broadcaster ARD. "This wave can no longer be completely stopped."