Angela Merkel's top aide warned Germany might bar unvaccinated people from 'restaurant, cinema and stadium visits'

• People who have yet to get vaccinated in Germany may face restrictions from places like stadiums and restaurants.
• Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff Helge Braun's made the warning amid a rise in COVID-19 cases.
• Approximately 49% of people in Germany are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

An aide for a top official in Germany said unvaccinated individuals might face restrictions, including being barred from places like restaurants, as the country's COVID-19 cases continue to surge.

The Delta variant, a more contagious strain of the virus, has been the cause of increased cases throughout the country since earlier this month, raising concerns for officials that daily numbers could grow immensely in coming months, Reuters and the Associated Press reported.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff, Helge Braun, told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag authorities are not anticipating another lockdown but people who have not received the vaccine could potentially not be allowed at some establishments.

"This could mean some things such as restaurant, cinema, and stadium visits would not be possible for tested unvaccinated people because the residual risk is too high," Braun said, according to Reuters.

Braun told the newspaper that "vaccinated people will definitely have more freedoms than unvaccinated people," according to the Associated Press.

Braun's remarks were met with criticism from fellow politicians, including Armin Laschet, a candidate to replace Merkel, who pointed to the "rights to freedom" of individuals.

"I don't believe in compulsory vaccinations and I don't believe we should put indirect pressure on people to get vaccinated," Laschet told German broadcaster ZDF in an interview set to air Sunday night, according to the Associated Press. "In a free country there are rights to freedom, not just for specific groups."

Nearly half of the people in Germany, an estimated 49%, are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Reuters reported as of July 22 that 60% of people in Germany have received their first dose of the vaccine.

In the past month, the country recorded 28,955 new cases of COVID-19 and 847 deaths, according to JHU data.

Chancellor Merkel previously expressed concern over the recent rise in cases, telling reporters that "the key to overcoming the pandemic, the only way, is vaccination," the Associated Press reported on July 22.

US officials have also urged Americans to get the shot, calling it the "pandemic of the unvaccinated" as they make up most of the hospitalizations in the country.