BERLIN (AP) — Germany's health minister on Tuesday decried calls from the main opposition party to suspend the implementation of a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health workers, saying this would send a dangerous signal that authorities are caving to anti-vaccine protests.

Parliament in December approved the legislation that will require staff at hospitals and nursing homes to get immunized against the coronavirus, with the main center-right opposition Union bloc among those supporting it. Under the new law, those workers will need to show they are fully vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 by mid-March.

But in recent weeks, some local officials have complained that they lack the resources to implement it and the rules are unclear. On Monday, Bavaria's conservative governor said he plans not to implement the requirement at least for now, citing concerns about worker shortages.

The Union bloc's health policy spokesman, Tino Sorge, told Tuesday's edition of the daily Bild the federal government should accept the new rules are “barely practicable at the moment.” He argued that the mandate should be suspended nationwide “until central legal and practical questions are answered.”

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told reporters that the opposition's stance was “very problematic" and noted that the aim was to protect vulnerable patients, not harass medical staff.

“This sends a signal as if protests against the facility-specific vaccination mandate were more important to us — that we want to prevent these protests — than protecting these (vulnerable) people,” Lauterbach said.

The minister added that authorities have for months expected the population to go along with well-founded coronavirus restrictions, and it's “a very dangerous signal” for governors to suggest that rules don't apply to them. Under German law, it is up to state governments to implement the rules.

He said he hopes to find a solution, and will continue to work on “instruments with which we can support implementation” of the mandate. Lauterbach warned that it's wrong to assume the omicron variant, which is highly contagious but generally causes milder illness than earlier variants, makes the rules superfluous.

Prospects for a broader vaccine mandate for all adults or older age groups are uncertain. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has backed a universal mandate but, with his own governing coalition divided, has left it to parliament to put forward proposals. It's unclear whether and when a decision will be made.

Germany is still seeing its infection rates rise to record levels, but the current omicron-fueled wave is expected to peak in mid- to late February. Officials say they are working on plans to relax restrictions, which remain stricter in Germany than in several other European countries, once infections subside.

___

MADRID (AP) — Spain is scrapping a mandate to wear masks outdoors, as COVID-19 infection rates drop and hospitals report lower admissions.

Mask-wearing will not be necessary outside beginning Thursday, government spokeswoman Isabel Rodríguez said Tuesday after a weekly Cabinet meeting.

The rule change includes children at school during their breaks outside between classes.

However, masks remain mandatory in indoor public spaces, including public transportation, and when people are unable to keep a safe distance of 1.5 meters (4 feet) between them.

The measure reverses a step taken last December amid an unprecedented surge of infections fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant.

Official health ministry data showed how the spread of the virus gathered speed in November and peaked on Jan. 21 at 3,418 new infections per 100,000 residents over two weeks, a pandemic record. Contagion has since slowed down, with the 14-day figure dropping to just under 2,000.

Authorities credit a strong vaccination rate of nearly 81% of Spain's 47 million people for a lower hospital admission rate of COVID-19 patients than in previous infection surges.

Spain has officially recorded more than 94,000 deaths linked to COVID-19.

___

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Health Ministry said Tuesday that the March 1 deadline for full vaccination of teachers and so-called uniformed services is being pushed back indefinitely because it cannot be met.

Last year the government said teachers, medics, police, armed forces and the firefighters need to be inoculated by March 1 if they want to perform their jobs.

But Health Ministry spokesman Wojciech Andrusiewicz said the deadline cannot be kept under the current pace of vaccination and the requirement remains in force only for medical staff.

Poland is going through the pandemic’s fifth wave, with almost 36,000 new cases and almost 290 COVID-19-related deaths reported Tuesday. Some 57% of the population of 38 million is fully immunized.

___

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader announced on Tuesday the city's toughest social-distancing restrictions yet, including unprecedented limits on private gatherings, as new daily cases surge above 600.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said gatherings in private premises of more than two families will be banned starting Thursday.

Public gatherings will be restricted to two people, and hair salons and places of worship will be closed until Feb. 24, when the city launches a “vaccine pass” that will require people to show proof of vaccination to enter shopping malls, markets and eateries.

The tightened measures come as the city grapples with a new wave of the coronavirus driven by the omicron variant. Over 600 local cases were reported on Tuesday.

“I appeal to the public to join us in the fight against the virus,” Lam said at a news conference. “Please try to avoid going out as far as possible.”

Hong Kong has aligned itself with China’s “zero-COVID” policy, which aims to totally stamp out outbreaks, as many other countries shift their approach to living with the virus.

Authorities impose lockdowns on residential buildings wherever clusters of infections are identified, and have banned public dining after 6 p.m.

Lam said that approach will remain in effect until vaccination rates rise.

“We will continue to adhere to the current strategy of trying to contain the spread of the virus, or what we call maintaining this dynamic zero regime,” Lam said.

“But when vaccination rates increase, when omicron disappears and other things happen, then of course we will continue to revisit our strategy. But nothing will change our commitment to safeguard the life and the safety of the people of Hong Kong.”

___

BEIJING (AP) — China has ordered inhabitants of the southern city of Baise to stay home and suspended transportation links amid a surge in COVID-19 cases at least partly linked to the omicron variant.

Classes have been suspended, non-essential businesses closed and mass testing of residents ordered. Restaurants are only permitted to serve take-out. Traffic lights have been switched to red only to remind drivers to stay home.

As of Tuesday, 135 cases had been reported in the city — at least two of them found to be omicron, health authorities said.

The city has become the latest to be placed under lockdown in keeping with China’s “zero-tolerance” approach to the pandemic. The policy requires strict measures be applied even when only a small number of cases have been found.

A major concern is preventing outbreaks during the ongoing Beijing Winter Olympic Games. No new cases were reported in the Chinese capital on Tuesday.

More than 30 athletes at the Beijing Olympics are in isolation facilities after testing positive for the coronavirus, organizers said Tuesday. The average stay in isolation is seven days.

Baise has an urban population of about 1.4 million, with another 3 million in the large surrounding rural area that abuts the Vietnamese border.