Germany undergoes 'tough' Covid-19 restrictions to curb coronavirus spread
Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Germans to accept nationwide pandemic restrictions that came into force at midnight, resulting in a 10 pm-5 am curfews, further limits on personal contacts and access to non-essential stores in regions with high infection rates.
In her weekly video address Saturday, Merkel acknowledged the new rules are “tough” but insisted they are needed to curb the spread of the virus in the country.
Germany's disease control agency on Friday reported 23,392 newly confirmed cases and more 286 deaths from Covid-19. Since the start of the pandemic, Germany has recorded almost 3.3 million cases and 81,444 deaths.
Merkel says the new measures, which automatically start regions with more than 100 newly reported cases a week per 100,000 inhabitants, are “urgently needed.”
She cited Britain, Portugal and Ireland, which had infection rates sharply reduced during strict lockdowns, and defended Germany's new restrictions against critics who have called them excessive.
Also, Germany is restricting travel from India because of concern about a mutated version of the coronavirus amid surging cases there.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.