Countries try to stop increase in cases by re-imposing lockdown, encouraging jabs

Countries across Europe are seeing a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, particularly among unvaccinated people, with many nations including Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands introducing measures in an effort to avoid new full-scale lockdowns.

The head of Germany's infectious disease agency has warned that the nation faces a "serious emergency "unless steps are taken to counter the soaring number of infections.

Germany's Robert Koch Institute said on Thursday that 65,371 newly confirmed cases had been reported in a single day, a new record, agencies reported.

"We are currently heading toward a serious emergency," the Associated Press news agency, or AP, quoted Lothar Wieler, the director of the Robert Koch Institute, as saying.

"If we don't act now we are going to have a really bad Christmas," he added. He also criticized Germany's politicians for not heeding warnings about the spread of the virus. "It's a very clear message but after 21 months I just can't bear it any longer that it's simply not recognized what I and many other colleagues are saying."

AP reported that Wieler also said Germany needs to raise its vaccination rates from 68 percent to above 75 percent, adding that some regions of the country have even lower rates. Hospitals across the nation were struggling with capacity for COVID-19 patients and those with other illnesses, he warned. He also called for the closure of clubs and bars, and an end to large-scale events.

On Thursday, Germany's lawmakers were due to debate new measures to tackle the situation, noted The Guardian. On Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the nation was in the grip of a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections as the number of daily cases increased sharply.

"The current pandemic situation in Germany is dramatic, I can't say it any other way," Merkel said. "The fourth wave is hitting our country with full force."

Governments across Europe are responding to the surge in cases with partial measures, reported Euronews.

Nations are attempting to tackle the rise in cases with various measures, ranging from introducing lockdowns for the unvaccinated to limiting access to services, or pushing for an increase in vaccination rates, it said.

Sweden will introduce a COVID-19 vaccination pass from Dec 1, and the nation's social affairs minister, Lena Hallengren, urged the public to get vaccinated. "You who are unvaccinated cannot just carry on as normal; your most important contribution is to get vaccinated," she said, according to the BBC.

Vaccination rates vary from country to country across the continent, the broadcaster said. In Slovakia, the rate is among the lowest in the European Union at 44 percent, while the rate in the Czech Republic is 58 percent, and in Austria it is 65 percent.

Austria and the Netherlands have both registered a record high number of daily infections this week. Austria introduced a lockdown for an estimated two million unvaccinated people on Monday, and the Netherlands has already brought in a partial lockdown. Belgium has reintroduced compulsory work from home measures, and Czech authorities will ban people who cannot prove vaccination or recovery from COVID-19 from public events.

The BBC noted that France reported more than 20,000 new cases on Wednesday, although a government spokesperson was quoted as saying there are no plans for measures beyond the current COVID-19 passport as its vaccination and health pass meant it was "coping better than previously".