Germany to impose ‘lockdown’ on unvaccinated, could make jabs obligatory from Feb

German chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and finance minister Olaf Scholz (Markus Schreiber/AP)

German chancellor Angela Merkel has said that people who are not vaccinated will be excluded from non-essential shops, cultural and recreational venues, and that parliament will consider a general vaccine mandate, as part of efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus.

She made the announcement as more than 70,000 newly confirmed infections were reported in the country in a 24-hour period.