The country recorded 179.8 virus deaths per 100,000 residents over the last seven days
\nnews agency
\nBERLIN
\nGermany 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.
\nThe country recorded 179.8 virus deaths per 100,000 residents over the last 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\u2019s disease control center.
\nIt also blew past its previous daily death toll, with Germany\u2019s 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 included two days of figures from the hard-hit eastern state of Saxony, which did not report Tuesday. It brought the country\u2019s overall pandemic death toll to 23,427.
\nFaced with exponentially increasing cases in October, Germany implemented a \u201clockdown light\u201d at the start of November, which closed bars and restaurants but left shops open. The measures succeeded in leveling off new daily infections but didn\u2019t bring them down, prompting the new stricter restrictions.
\nIn 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.
\nGrocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, banks and other businesses providing services deemed essential \u2014 including Christmas tree vendors \u2014 can remain open.
\nIn Saxony, where the virus is spreading most rapidly in Germany at the moment, hospitals are filling up. The state\u2019s governor said more drastic restrictions might be necessary, calling it \u201cpure poison\u201d when too many people were still going out and about.
\nThe restrictions are expected last until at least Jan. 10 but enjoy wide support, with the latest polls showing more than 80% of Germans approve of the lockdown measures or think they should be stricter.
\n\u201cThis year, I don\u2019t think Christmas is that important, in the face of the facts we have in society right now,\u201d said Stella Kretschmer, who was picking up a prescription in the western city of Cologne.
\nThe 27-year-old student said she was in favor of shops being closed down.
\n\u201cFor me, consumption is not the most important thing,\u201d she said, adding, however, that she does \u201cfeel sorry for the people who … have to fear for their jobs.\u201d
\nGermany was widely praised for slowing the spread of its outbreak in the spring, but as people grew lax with distancing and mask rules over the summer the numbers of cases started to climb again.
\nWhile daily new cases peaked in March at about 6,000, they are now more than four times that level, with 27,728 new cases reported Wednesday by the Robert Koch Institute.
\nGerman officials have pressed the European Union\u2019s regulatory agency hard 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\u2019s end, German officials have urged people to stay patient and respect the regulations over the holidays.
\nHealth Minister Jens Spahn said Germany was ready and could begin vaccinations within two to four days of the EMA\u2019s approval.
\n\u201cBy summer, we\u2019ll be able to return to normal, step by step,\u201d he said Wednesday on RTL television.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The country recorded 179.8 virus deaths per 100,000 residents over the last seven days news agency 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 deaths per 100,000 residents […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":162491,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-162539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n