BERLIN, (Reuters) – German politicians debate making COVID-19 mandatory for all citizens due to rising inoculations and high rates of infections.

On Sunday, several members of Merkel’s conservative bloc suggested that the federal government and all state governments need to mandate vaccinations as soon as possible. Other efforts to raise Germany’s low immunization rate (only 68%), have not succeeded.

Tilman Kuban from Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union’s youth wing wrote, “We’ve reached an important point where we must clearly state that de facto compulsory vaccines and a lockdown are necessary for the unvaccinated,” in Die Welt.

Germany’s 7-day coronavirus prevalence rate climbed to its highest point since Sunday 14th of December, when it reached 372.7 nationally.

It has exceeded 1,000 in some areas, with many hospitals reporting complete intensive care units. Last December, it was at record 197.6

In Germany, the total number of coronavirus-related infections has reached 5.35million since February 2020. Total death toll is 99,062.

Bavarian State Premier Markus Soeder urged for an immediate decision to make COVID-19 shots compulsory, while Schleswig-Holstein States Premier Daniel Guenther stated that the authorities must at least consider such a move to reduce unvaccinated people.

Danyal Bayaz (an influential Greens member, Finance Minister in Baden-Wuerttemberg’s southwestern state), where the rates of infection are high, stated that compulsory vaccination would not be allowed at this time of pandemic.

The Greens currently have talks with both the Social Democrats (SPD), a centre-left party, and libertarian Free Democrats. They are looking to create a coalition government at the federal level.

They are close to securing a coalition agreement that would allow Olaf Scholz, the SPD’s Finance Minister, to replace Merkel as chancellor.

Scholz said that he supports a public debate on whether vaccination should be compulsory for nurses and health care workers. FDP members voiced objections as they believe the party places more emphasis on individual liberty.

Austria, a neighboring country, announced this week a plan for making vaccines mandatory next year.