(Credit: dpa)

The German Constitutional Court has rejected motions that challenged the German Federal Emergency Brake in April 2021, and subsequently declared a state of lockdown as a legal instrument to fight COVID-19.

Following the decision by the Court, Prime Ministers of German federal states have agreed to bring further restrictive measures in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Per the statement, unvaccinated people are only allowed to meet a maximum of five people from a maximum of two households. Clubs and discos will be closed as these are areas with a particularly high risk of multiple infections. Finally, the capacity at major events may only be one third of a full event capacity.

The federal states have asked the government to adapt the Infection Protection Act by December 10, 2021 in order to enable the use of other, more restrictive instruments to combat the latest wave of COVID-19.