The authorities of Germany They are studying the possibility of extending restrictions against the pandemic and introducing mandatory vaccination against covid-19 in the medium term.

The immediate objective is to accelerate vaccination and apply up to 30 million doses, whether first, second or booster in the remainder of the year, according to sources from Angela Merkel’s outgoing government, after the meeting held with the candidate for the Chancellery , Olaf Scholz and regional leaders.

At the informal meeting on Tuesday, “different proposals” have been addressed, such as a “substantial” reduction in contacts, especially among those not vaccinated, as well as the implantation of the mandatory vaccine in certain professions and a “next decision” on its general obligation.

These proposals will be addressed again in a meeting that will be held next Thursday.

For its part, the United Kingdom Parliament approved this Tuesday to reintroduce the mandatory use of the mask in public transport and shops in England.

The measure, which has come forward with 434 votes in favor and 23 against – a massive support for the British Government that has included the Labor Party – will take effect at 05:00 this Wednesday, according to the BBC.

The United Kingdom abolished the mandatory use of a mask, and the rest of the restrictions imposed by the pandemic on July 19.

The vote has concluded while the British ‘premier’, Boris Johnson, began a press conference to address the situation of the pandemic in the United Kingdom. During his speech, he assured that the “objective” of the Government is to offer a booster doses of the covid-19 vaccine to the entire target population -the over 18 years old- by ​​the end of January.

In this sense, he has specified that the authorities will prioritize the elderly and the most vulnerable people, as with the previous doses.

On the other hand, the general director of the World Health Organization (WHO) has censured travel restrictions imposed by the European Union or the United Kingdom from areas of southern Africa due to the omicron variant.

During a session with the Member States of the WHO, Tedros gave the thanks to Botswana and South Africa for having detected, sequenced and communicated this variant “so quickly”, and has demanded to the rest of the countries that the response to the appearance of this variant be “calm, coordinated and coherent”.

“I am deeply concerned that those countries are now being penalized by others for doing the right thing. I fully understand the concern of all countries to protect their citizens against a variant that we still do not fully understand. But I am equally concerned that several Member States are introducing strong and general measures that are not based on tests or are not effective on their own, and that will only worsen inequalities, “he denounced.

Tedros has insisted that member states “adopt rational and proportionate risk reduction measures” for the propagation of omicron, and always “in accordance with the International Health Regulations”.