Germany Weighs New Lockdown as Virus Cases Surge

German Health Minister Jens Spahn on Friday recommended that the country enter a brief but strict lockdown.Sean Gallup/DDP/Zuma Press

BERLIN—Germany’s healthcare minister recommended that the country should go into a brief but strict total lockdown after the daily number of new cases hit 25,000 on Friday amid warnings that the healthcare system could reach capacity.

The minister, Jens Spahn, told reporters that infection rates have become too high and that the situation in hospitals was getting serious. “If it continues like this, there will be too many [cases] for our healthcare system,” Mr. Spahn said in a televised press conference.

A formal decision to enter into a total lockdown would depend on a vote in parliament or an agreement between the federal government and the country’s 16 states.

Mr. Spahn called for a strengthening of existing restrictions, including closure of non-essential businesses, curbing travel and working from home, in order to bridge the period between the surge in infections and the point at which the country reaches collective immunity via mass vaccination. Germany is also preparing to introduce curfews and other curbs on movement in order to stem the spread of the virus. At the present rate of immunization, authorities believe that the majority of adults will be vaccinated by late summer.

Until then, children in schools and kindergartens, as well as employees in larger companies, should be tested at least twice a week, Mr. Spahn added.

Germany’s vaccine rollout has been suffering from a shortage of doses, as well as from logistical and administrative complications that have hampered immunization. This week, however, authorities boosted vaccination rates by allowing general practitioners to administer shots, instead of solely relying on mass vaccination centers. As a result, Germany vaccinated over 700,000 people on Thursday, a record since vaccination started in late December.

One of the key obstacles to vaccinating more people was the reliance on the shot made by AstraZeneca PLC. The company struggled to keep its supply schedule, and authorities briefly suspended the rollout of the vaccine after it was linked to cases of rare blood clotting in recipients.

Last week, the government decided that the AstraZeneca shot would only be given to people older than 60, after medical authorities said that the side effect mostly affected younger recipients.