People in Germany who have not received their Covid-19 vaccination will be banned from visiting recreational and cultural venues, and will not be permitted to enter non-essential shops.
With the news, the country becomes the latest EU member to introduce tougher measures against people unwilling to get their jab.
Austria already announced plans to make vaccination mandatory for every citizen starting February 1 2022, while Greece has stated that it will fine residents over 60 years old 100 euros for each month that they do not get jabbed.
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The Netherlands introduced a new curfew last week, after which police were brought in to quash protests against the new lockdown - amongst the strictest out of any country.
In contrast, Slovakia is encouraging people to get their jab by incentivising them with a 500-euro bonus - which equates to around £425.
The news in Germany follows the announcement by the chief of the European Commission that EU countries should make the vaccine mandatory in response to low uptake rates, as reported by WalesOnline.
German chancellor Angela Merkel said that parliament will also consider a general vaccine mandate, as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Mrs Merkel made the announcement as more than 70,000 newly confirmed infections were reported in the country in a 24-hour period.
Speaking after a meeting with federal and state leaders, Mrs Merkel said the measures were necessary in light of concerns that hospitals in Germany could become overloaded with people suffering Covid-19 infections, which were more likely to be serious in those who had not been vaccinated.
“The situation in our country is serious,” Mrs Merkel told reporters in Berlin, calling the measure an “act of national solidarity”.
She said officials had also agreed to require masks in schools, impose new limits on private meetings and aim for 30 million vaccinations by the end of the year.
About 68.7% of the population in Germany is fully vaccinated, below the minimum of 75% the government is aiming for.
The EU-wide vaccination rate is 66%, and unexpectedly high case surges in much of the 27-nation bloc have led many member countries to renew mask and testing requirements, and to take other steps to curb infections.
“It is understandable and appropriate to lead this discussion now – how we can encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union,” Ursula von der Leyen said.
Health policy remains a national prerogative in the EU, and making jabs mandatory remains a controversial issue.
“One third of the European population is not vaccinated. These are 150 million people. This is a lot,” she told reporters.
“The lifesaving vaccines are not being used adequately everywhere. This is an enormous health cost coming along.”
German chancellor-designate Olaf Scholz said he would back a proposal to mandate coronavirus vaccines for all next year.
The EU’s 27 health ministers are scheduled to assess the emergence of the Omicron variant of coronavirus next Tuesday. Any recommendations would be put to the leaders of member nations during a regularly scheduled December 16 summit.
An emergency summit on the Omicron variant first detected in southern Africa had been discussed for days, but it was tough to find a time slot for all the leaders.
Much remains unknown about the variant, including whether it is more contagious, as some health authorities suspect, whether it makes people more seriously ill, and whether it can thwart the vaccine.
