Germany Increases Pressure on People to Get Vaccinated for Covid

(Bloomberg) -- Germany will expand Covid-19 testing requirements for non-vaccinated people and end free tests to prod more residents to roll up their sleeves.

The government will no longer pay for antigen tests as of Oct. 11. Starting later this month, negative results or proof of vaccination will be required to eat in restaurants, go to the hairdresser and attend sporting events, creating a financial incentive for people to get coronavirus shots, which are free.

“Immunization rates have slowed considerably,” and it’s important to increase the willingness of people to get inoculated, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday after meeting with premiers of the country’s 16 states. “We want to avoid hard measures as much as possible.”

Merkel’s administration is looking to head off another lockdown that would put renewed strain on Europe’s biggest economy. The package could fuel tensions over the government putting pressure on residents wary of getting inoculated.

While people can reject the shots, “as long as vaccines are effective, we can’t tell vaccinated people that they can’t fully exercise their rights as citizens,” Merkel said. 

Merkel’s government will also seek parliamentary approval to extend its pandemic powers beyond September as the more-contagious delta variant spreads and stokes concerns about a fourth wave. Aid for businesses hit by the pandemic, which was also due to run out next month, will be prolonged until the end of the year.

Germany’s contagion rate has more than quadrupled in recent weeks, while its vaccine drive loses steam. Merkel said the target is to fully inoculate 75% of the population, boosting the level from about 55% now. 

Germany has slipped behind its neighbors, with almost 58% immunized in France and nearly 62% in Spain, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.

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The agreement to raise pressure to get shots could help Armin Laschet, the front-runner to succeed Merkel as chancellor. The premier of North Rhine-Westphalia pushed for such a program ahead of the meeting to bolster his image as a crisis manager as his campaign falters.

Laschet -- the chairman of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union -- has been under pressure to regain the initiative after a rocky several weeks hit the conservative bloc’s support. Its lead over the Greens has shrunk to as little as two percentage points in one survey.

Last Wednesday, the 60-year-old postponed the official start of his campaign to deal with the aftermath of floods that hit his region last month. He was pilloried for chuckling on camera amid the wreckage. While he later apologized, the incident sparked a slide in the polls.

Merkel and state officials also signed off on a 30 billion-euro ($35 billion) fund to help pay for reconstruction from the flooding disaster. The money includes 2 billion euros for affected federal buildings. The rest will be split between national and state governments, with financing extending over the next 30 years.

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