ANGELA Merkel has banned unvaccinated Germans from shops in draconian Covid restrictions as leaders warn of a "bleak" Christmas ahead.

       Germany has agreed to a string of tougher Covid measures for the unvaccinated citizens - as well as a tiered restrictions system in a bid to tackle the virus.

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       Germany has announced measures stopping the unvaccinated from visiting bars and restaurants Credit: EPA

       German cases are spiralling in what Chancellor Angela Merkel called a "dramatic" fourth wave as the country recorded over 65,000 cases in a day.

       She announced measures stopping the unvaccinated from visiting bars, restaurants and theatres if hospitalisation rates became too high.

       Mrs Merkel said: "It is absolutely time to act."

       Under plans unveiled by Mrs Merkel, German regions will introduce restrictions on a tiered system depending on hospital capacity.

       Access to restaurants, bars, gyms, cinemas and events will be restricted to those who can show proof of vaccination or recovery from the virus.

       In regions in which Covid is rife, vaccinated people will also have to show a recent negative test.

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       With the country's hospitals on the brink of collapse, a lockdown could soon come into force which would last until December 15.

       Germany's disease control agency, The Robert Koch Institute, reported 65,371 new daily cases, shattering the previous 24-hour record and continuing an upward trend that experts have warned about for weeks

       "We are currently heading toward a serious emergency," institute director Lothar Wieler said during an online debate late Wednesday.

       "We are going to have a really terrible Christmas if we don't take countermeasures now.

       "We’ve never been as worried as we are right now. The outlook is bleak, extremely bleak.

       "Anyone who can’t see how serious it is is making a big mistake.”

       He added: “We’ve got to stop giving those who are unvaccinated chances to avoid getting it with tests.

       "Every man and every mouse who can inject a shot should be vaccinating people now. Otherwise, we’re never going to get on top of this.”

       But the country's jab rate of just 68 per cent lower than the European average, though many countries have managed to drive down death rates.

       ‘HORRIBLE CHRISTMAS’

       German lawmakers today approved new legislation that includes requirements for employees to prove they are vaccinated, recovered from Covid or have tested negative to access communal workplaces.

       This comes as Europe could face another Christmas lockdown as cases have exploded across the continent.

       World Health Organization said Europe was the only region in the world where Covid-related deaths increased last week, as Belgium's Prime Minister said the continent was on "red alert".

       Within Europe, the WHO said that the highest number of cases came from Russia, Germany, and the UK.

       Meanwhile, in Belgium, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced a series of measures in a bid to avoid a winter lockdown.

       "All the alarm signals are red. Europe's map is quickly going red, and we are the same," he said.

       Children from the age of ten and above will now have to wear masks, and working from home for at least four days a week will be made compulsory starting from Saturday.

       EUROPE IN CRISIS

       The situation is also deteriorating in Italy and it stands on the brink of a fourth lockdown as the number of daily cases reaches the highest level since May.

       The Netherlands has already introduced a partial lockdown and Austria will impose a lockdown for the two million unvaccinated people on Monday.

       Elsewhere, in Sweden, the Government will introduce a Covid vaccination pass from December 1 for indoor events involving more than 100 people.

       "You who are unvaccinated cannot just carry on as normal; your most important contribution is to get vaccinated," said social affairs minister Lena Hallengren.

       France is being hit by a fifth wave of Covid with more than 20,000 cases reported on Wednesday.

       Speaking on 20 Minutes, the country's health minister Olivier Véran said: "The fifth wave is now hitting France."

       He warned that the situation could get worse with charts indicating a risk of more than "1,000 hospitalisations per day by January 2022."

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