Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
GERMANY HARDENS lockdown as virus cases climb.
BERLIN — Germany reported a record level of coronavirus deaths as it entered a harder lockdown Wednesday, closing shops and schools to try to lower the rate of stubbornly high new daily infections.
The country recorded 179.8 virus infections per 100,000 residents over the past week, 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. That was far greater than the previous daily record set Friday of 598 deaths, although it included two days of figures from the hard-hit eastern state of Saxony, which did not report Tuesday. It brought the country’s overall pandemic death toll to 23,427.
“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 went 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.
In addition to 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 Saxony, where the virus is spreading most rapidly in Germany, hospitals are filling up. The state’s governor said more drastic restrictions might be necessary, calling it “pure poison” when too many people were still going out and about.
The restrictions are expected to last until at least Jan. 10 but have wide support.
German officials have pressed the European Union’s regulatory agency to speed up its approval of a coronavirus vaccine, and the European Medicines Agency has scheduled a meeting Monday on that. With vaccinations expected to start before year’s end, German officials have urged people to stay patient and respect the regulations over the holidays.
Spahn, the health minister, said Germany was ready and could begin vaccinations within two to four days of the European Medicines Agency’s approval.
In Britain, after a sharp spike in new infections — another 25,161 were recorded Wednesday, the highest since Nov. 14 — families are being urged to consider new rules as the outer limits of what they can do.
Last month, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland agreed to permit a maximum of three households to mix between Dec. 23 and Dec. 27, regardless of what local restrictions are in place.
“Have yourselves a merry little Christmas and, I’m afraid, this year I do mean little,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at a briefing. “I want to stress these are maximums, not targets.”
His comments echoed those of other leaders elsewhere, though Wales said it will legislate to limit bubbles to two households.
Johnson said it would be “inhuman” to ban Christmas but that in light of the “worrying” rises in new infections in some parts of the country, people should think hard about what to do. He said anyone planning to meet others during the easing should start limiting contacts from this Friday, for example.
Professor Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical officer, said the advice was akin to driving at the speed limit in icy conditions.
“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should,” he said.
Concerns over planned easing of restrictions have ratcheted higher in recent days. With new infections rising in many places, many fear that a relaxation will only lead to more deaths. On Wednesday, the U.K. recorded another 612 covid-related fatalities, taking the total to 65,520 — Europe’s second-highest behind Italy.
The confusion surrounding the scheduled easing has been exacerbated by the fact that many parts of the country have seen restrictions tightened this week. On Wednesday, London and nearby areas entered the highest level of local restrictions in England — Tier 3 — in which pubs and restaurants had to close again apart from takeout, and more curbs were placed on different households gathering.
Johnson also said the elderly and the most vulnerable should be vaccinated by the early part of 2021. The U.K. is rolling out the vaccine developed by America’s Pfizer and the German company BioNTech after becoming on Dec. 8 the first country in the world to authorize it.