Record death toll as Germany enters partial lockdown
AFP
1608161598000

Chairs and table packed up in front of a restaurant in Bonn, Germany on Wednesday on the first day of a new partial nationwide lockdown due to another wave of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. /AFP

Germany reported a record number of deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday, the first day of a new partial lockdown to try to halt a surge in infections.

A total of 952 people died in the previous 24 hours, according to the country’s disease control center Robert Koch Institute.

It said 27,728 new coronavirus cases were registered, a figure close to the daily record of nearly 30,000 infections reported last Friday.

Saxony, a region with some of Germany’s highest rates of infection, was not included in Tuesday’s figures, potentially boosting the latest numbers.

Some 83 percent of critical care beds in hospitals were occupied on Wednesday, the country’s intensive care and emergency medicine association said.

The new curbs, including closures of schools and non-essential shops, demonstrate the seriousness of the situation in Europe’s largest economy, as measures are ramped up in the run-up to the Christmas.

Germany coped relatively well with the first wave in the spring but has been unable to stop the spread of a resurgent virus in recent months.

The latest restrictions will apply until at least January 10, with companies also urged to allow staff to work from home or to offer extended company holidays.

Authorities want to “implement the principle of ‘we’re staying at home,’” according to the policy paper agreed by Chancellor Angela Merkel and 16 state premiers.

Social contacts will have to remain restricted over the Christmas period from December 24 to 26, when meetings will only be possible between close family members.

New Year’s Eve festivities will also be curtailed, with the sale of fireworks and gatherings banned.

Ahead of the closure of most retail stores until next year, Germans rushed to queue up for last-chance Christmas shopping.

“I hope that the shopping on Monday and Tuesday will not penalize us,” Merkel said at a meeting with her conservative parliamentary group.

“The vaccine will help us,” but the evolution of the pandemic remains unpredictable, she added.

Her government has pressured the European Medicines Agency, which regulates the release of medicines in the European Union, to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine ahead of the Christmas holiday.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Tuesday that he hoped vaccinations would begin before the end of the year in Germany.

“We will be able to return gradually to normal from the summer onwards,” he said.

On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told European deputies that the EU’s 27 member countries aim to start COVID-19 vaccinations on “the same day” in a sign of unity of the bloc.

“To get to the end of the pandemic, we will need up to 70 percent of the population vaccinated. This is a huge task, a big task. So let’s start as soon as possible with the vaccination together, as 27, with a start at the same day,” she said.

The EMA is bringing forward to next Monday a special meeting originally planned a week later to discuss conditional approval for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.