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GERMANY WILL CLOSE most stores and schools, and further limit social contacts in an effort to reduce the rate of Covid-19 infections that have remained stubbornly high in recent weeks.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she and the governors of Germany’s 16 states had agreed to intensify the country’s lockdown measures from December 16 to January 10 to halt the exponential rise in Covid-19 cases.
“We are forced to act, and we act too,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin.
Existing restrictions imposed in November failed to significantly reduce the number of new infections, he said.
Companies are also urged to allow employees to work from home or offer extended company vacations under the new measures.
“That would help implement the ‘stay at home’ principle,” according to the policy document agreed by Merkel and state prime ministers.
Germany recorded 20,200 recently confirmed cases and 321 additional deaths today, a high number for the weekend when many local authorities did not report figures.
With the exception of Christmas, the number of people allowed to gather inside will remain restricted to five, not including children under the age of 14.
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The sale of fireworks traditionally used to celebrate the New Year will be prohibited, as will the sale of alcohol outdoors.
“Today is not the day to look back or to see what could have been, rather, today is the day to do what is necessary,” Merkel said, noting “a very high number of deaths” and highlighting the urgent need to act .
With AFP report
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