Coronavirus Restrictions amid rising cases -Germany
Hard lockdown likely before Christmas
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Germans are facing a quiet Christmas and New Year in 2020, after the government announced on Sunday a new lockdown lasting throughout the holidays.
BERLIN • Germany will have to impose tougher coronavirus restrictions before Christmas to try to get the pandemic under control, ministers and regional leaders said yesterday, as daily coronavirus cases and deaths rose the most since the pandemic started.
New coronavirus-related fatalities climbed by 604 in the 24 hours through yesterday morning, while cases jumped by another 32,734, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Both figures exceeded previous highs reached in recent weeks.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of Germany's 16 states are expected to discuss the pandemic at a meeting tomorrow, according to local media reports.
Hospitals could become overburdened, and the virus is spreading rapidly among the elderly. Dr Merkel made an emotional appeal to Germans this week to rein in year-end celebrations to protect friends and family.
Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said Germany needed a hard lockdown before Christmas if it wanted to slow the spread of the virus, while the country's health and economy ministers also said existing measures would have to be extended.
"This will lead to a lockdown that is similar in many ways to what happened in the early part of the year," Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said at a virtual news conference.
The main measures under consideration are the closure of non-essential shops, plus longer school holidays. Germany closed bars, gyms and cinemas early last month, while allowing schools and other businesses to continue operating. The partial shutdown - softer than curbs imposed in countries such as Britain and France - has so far failed to slow the spread of the disease.
Ahead of new national measures, regional leaders were tightening local curbs, with Baden-Wuerttemberg becoming the latest state to impose a night curfew.
Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller plans to close non-essential stores and extend school breaks until Jan 10, joining other states including Bavaria and Saxony in implementing more stringent curbs. He told ZDF television on Thursday evening that he expects a nationwide lockdown for three weeks starting on Dec 20.
BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
