Berlin – German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Tuesday that more people needed to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before restrictions could be lifted, following news that England will scrap nearly all curbs from next week.
England will lift on July 19 the legal requirement to wear masks and for people to socially distance, in what one German official called “a highly risky experiment”.
“The central question is how many people will seek a vaccination,” Merkel told a news conference. “The more people are vaccinated, the freer we will all be again,” she said.
A move by France to make vaccinations compulsory for all healthcare workers spurred debate in Germany over whether people in some professions should be forced to get a shot, but Merkel said on Tuesday that would not happen.Â
“There will be no compulsory vaccination,” she said, adding that forcing people to get the shot could undermine public trust in the vaccination campaign.
