Amid fears of a new wave of COVID cases, Germany's acting Chancellor Angela Merkel told party leaders that stricter measures were needed.

"We are in a highly dramatic situation. What is in place now is not sufficient," Merkel said. She called on Germany’s 16 federal states to decide on stronger procedures by Wednesday.

Merkel said the latest surge in cases is worse than anything seen thus far.

At a press conference Monday in Berlin, Germany’s health minister urged more of the country to get vaccinated due to the growing threat of the Delta variant. Jens Spahn said by the end of this winter, everyone in Germany would be “vaccinated, recovered or dead."

On Monday, Germany reported 30,643 new COVID cases and 62 deaths, with about 100,000 cases per week. The situation is particularly dire in Germany's eastern state of Saxony, where hospitals may have a shortage of beds.

Central Europe continues to grapple with the surge. Austria, which borders Germany, has taken on new lockdown measures. The Czech Republic, which also borders Germany, and Slovakia have also considered new lockdown measures.

The comments from Merkel and other German officials come as the Netherlands faced weekend riots over COVID restrictions. On Monday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called the rioters “idiots” for using the new restrictions as an excuse for violence.

RELATED STORIES
Coronavirus