Unvaccinated Germans face more COVID tests to avoid restrictions

Germany needs to increase testing and boost vaccinations to avoid another COVID-19 lockdown, the conservative candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor said on Tuesday, before government talks to curb a rise in new cases. “We want to and will test more to avoid a new lockdown,” Armin Laschet told the North Rhine-Westphalia assembly. Hoping to become chancellor after a Sept. 26 election, Laschet is desperate to avoid new restrictions and said Germany should introduce incentives to encourage more people to get vaccinated and also ramp up compulsory testing.