Bavaria's Minister-President Markus Soeder speaks at a press conference at Rosenheim City Hall on the current status of the Coronavirus situation in the region. Uwe Lein/dpa
Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder has demanded that compulsory vaccination against the coronavirus be implemented across Germany from the start of the new year.
"We need an effective national containment strategy," said Soeder, who has become an influential voice on the pandemic and is the head of a large and economically important state.
He called for a nationwide "emergency brake" and for action to deal with the new variant recently discovered in South Africa, including a ban on travel from the region.
"We need a vaccination mandate, and as quickly as possible," Soeder said, suggesting January 1 as the implementation date.
