Unvaccinated in Germany to be excluded from large parts of public life

Germany's leader's set out plans to exclude people who aren't vaccinated from non-essential shops and recreational venues.

Angela Merkel says if the proposal's approved by parliament, it could be imposed as soon as February.

Around 70-thousand new coronavirus cases a day are currently being recorded in the country.

Virologists have blamed the fourth wave, which risks overwhelming intensive care units and resulted in the announcement of more than 73,000 new infections and 388 deaths today, on resistance to vaccination by a large section of society.

They have also criticised politicians for acting too late.

Germany's vaccination rate, at just under 70%, is around the European Union average.