Germany not planning to make COVID-19 vaccination compulsory: Merkel

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday said there are no plans for a nationwide compulsory coronavirus vaccination, but urged the citizens to get vaccinated.

Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, Merkel said: "We do not intend to go the way France suggested. We say there would be no compulsory vaccination."

She pointed out that vaccines do not only protect against serious illness but also from the stressful restrictions of everyday life.

"The more we are vaccinated, the freer we will be again," Merkel said.

The chancellor said COVID-19 infections were on the rise again due to the Delta strain.

The seven-day incidence in Germany has been increasing every day for a week, with value of new infection reaching 6.5 per 100,000 inhabitants on Tuesday morning, up from 4.9 on the same day last week, according to the Berlin-based Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

German health authorities reported 646 new coronavirus infections and 26 deaths over the past day.

According to the RKI on Monday, the reproductive number of COVID-19, which provides an estimate of the possible extend of the transmission, was 1.15. The number means that 100 infected people theoretically infect 115 more people.​​​​​​​