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Austria, the only European country to order mandatory vaccinations, has almost twice as many cases per capita as Germany. But Austria’s caseload, still among the world’s highest, has started to decline, while Germany’s has not.

Christian Lindner, the head of the Free Democrats, the junior coalition partner in the incoming German government, has long criticized Ms. Merkel’s government over coronavirus restrictions. Yet he signaled on Thursday that he would also be open to mandatory vaccinations, given the current rate of infection.

Opposition to the rules announced Thursday is expected from parts of eastern Germany, where tougher restrictions are already in place to deal with regional outbreaks, and where there have been regular protests against government measures. On Monday, 2,700 people protested in 20 different locations, the police said.

Under the new measures, bars and nightclubs in virus hot spots — districts where more than 350 infections in a week are registered per 100,000 people — would be forced to close and indoor gatherings would be limited to 50 participants.

In other districts, large gatherings at events like soccer games and cultural shows would face caps, depending on the size of venues, even for fully vaccinated spectators.

And, as was the case last year, selling firecrackers will be prohibited at the end of December, in an attempt to dissuade crowded New Year’s parties.