While companies have been handed tens of billions since the start of the pandemic, those in the medical wards who have risked their lives and health every day for more than two years get only pittances.
Health experts in Germany are calling for the rollout of COVID vaccine booster shots for vulnerable groups to be sped up, to combat the pandemic over winter.
German parliament approves new law on coronavirus rules
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday signed into law new legislation designed to tackle high coronavirus infection numbers across the country.
The national emergency brake grants the federal government extra powers if caseloads exceed certain levels, and includes measures such as a nighttime curfew and limits on social contacts.
The new legislation was passed by the German lower house of parliament on Wednesday, before receiving final approval from the upper house where Germany s 16 states are represented earlier on Thursday.
The changes to the Infectious Diseases Protection Act is aiming to have some impact on Germany s fight against the third wave of coronavirus infections.
German lawmakers vote on nationwide coronavirus restrictions
Germany s parliament is voting on the first set of regulations of contact restrictions, curfews and the closure of stores and schools that would uniformly affect the entire country.
Several hundred protesters gathered outside parliament to protest the law change
The German parliament will on Wednesday vote on potent new legislation to control the coronavirus pandemic across the country.
If approved, the changes to the Infection Protection Act could be a watershed moment in Germany s fight against the third wave of COVID-19.
Up until now, the federal government was technically in charge of restriction measures but in the country s decentralized federal structure, the 16 states were free to implement those guidelines as they saw fit.