People who aren't vaccinated will be excluded from nonessential stores, cultural and recreational venues, and parliament will consider a general vaccine mandate, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday, as part of an effort to curb coronavirus infections that again topped 70,000 newly confirmed COVID cases in a 24-hour period.

The measures were necessary in light of concerns that hospitals in Germany could become overloaded with people suffering COVID-19 infections, which are more likely to be serious in those who haven't been vaccinated, Merkel said after a meeting with federal and state leaders.

"The situation is our country is serious," Merkel told reporters in Berlin, calling the measure an "act of national solidarity."