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After becoming the worst-hit coronavirus hotspot in the country, the eastern German state of Saxony will from Monday impose tough measures shutting schools, kindergartens and most shops to prevent transmission.
“The situation in hospitals are not only tense, but extremely dangerous,” Saxony state premier Michael Kretschmer said on Tuesday, warning that in some hospitals, intensive care wards were already full.
The state has reported an incidence rate of 319 cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days — more than twice that of the national average at 147.
The situation is even more worse in some towns within the state — in Bautzen for instance, the infection rate is above 500 cases per 100,000.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has continually said that numbers need to be brought down to 50 per 100,000 people so that officials can effectively carry out their trace and isolate strategy.
With the situation showing no signs of improving in Saxony, regional authorities have decided to beef up restrictions beyond those agreed with Merkel two weeks ago.
Unlike elsewhere in Germany, Saxony’s schools and kindergartens will be closed from Monday, a week before winter vacation was expected to start. Students will be required to continue their classes from home.
Shops selling non-essential items will also have to be shut, a blow to business before the festive season.
Visits to elderly care homes will be tightly controlled, with negative tests and masks required.
To date, Germany has ordered far less strict curbs than other major European nation, after coming through the first wave of the pandemic relatively unscathed.
But Europe’s biggest economy has been severely hit by a second wave, with daily new infections more than three times that of the peak in the spring.
With an eye on the Christmas holiday season when many families are expected to be on the move across the country, calls have grown for Merkel and Germany’s 16 state premiers to agree tougher rules for the festival period.
Guidelines drawn up two weeks ago were to allow social contact restrictions to be eased over Christmas and New Year for up to 10 adults to meet, up from five from two households currently.
Harder hit states have however opted to take a tougher line — Berlin state for instance has said it will maintain the stricter rule through the holiday period.
On Tuesday, Thuringia state also confirmed it would also not loosen restrictions over Christmas.
Nigeria has commenced the second phase of its preparations for the Tokyo Olympics in three centres across the country. According to a statement by the Ministry of Youth and Sports […]
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