Germany toughens limits amid spike
Deaths hit record high; infection rate surging
BERLIN — Germany reported a record level of coronavirus deaths as it entered a harder lockdown Wednesday, closing shops and schools to try to bring down stubbornly high new daily infections.
The country recorded 179.8 virus infections per 100,000 residents over the past seven days, a new high and significantly more than the 149 per 100,000 reported a week ago by the Robert Koch Institute, the country’s disease control center.
It also blew past its previous daily death toll, with Germany’s 16 states reporting that 952 more people had died of the virus, the institute said.
“It’s as if the virus wanted to remind us how important what we’re now doing is,” Health Minister Jens Spahn said of the surge in deaths being reported on the day new restrictions come into force.
Faced with exponentially increasing cases in October, Germany implemented a “lockdown light” at the start of November, which closed bars and restaurants but left shops open. The measures slowed the weekly increase in new infections but didn’t bring them down, prompting officials to take more drastic measures.
With closing shops and moving children to remote learning for the few days before the Christmas holidays, private gatherings are being limited to two households with a maximum of five people, among other things.
Grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, banks and other businesses providing services deemed essential — including Christmas tree vendors — can remain open. In other developments:
■ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will get the coronavirus vaccine on Saturday night, making him the first Israeli to be immunized. Netanyahu said he wants to set an example for others to follow.
■ The European Union plans to deploy anti-coronavirus shots across the 27-nation bloc using “supersonic fast procedure” after the EU regulator approves the Biontech/pfizer coronavirus vaccine.
■ Indonesia, the world’s fourthmost populous nation, said it will offer free COVID-19 vaccines to its people. President Joko Widodo said Wednesday he has ordered the finance minister to reallocate spending from other matters to pay for the free program.
■ South Korea reported another high in daily coronavirus increases as health officials face pressure to enforce stricter social distancing to slow the spread in the capital area.