German States Propose Extension Of COVID-19 Partial Lockdown With Exception For Christmas

German States Propose Extension of COVID-19 Partial Lockdown With Exception for Christmas

The heads of Germany's 16 states have agreed on a draft proposal for extending certain elements of the country's coronavirus-related social distancing measures into December before a temporary easing of restrictions for the Christmas holidays, the mayor of Berlin, Michael Mueller, said on Tuesday, ahead of a planned meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel

BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th November, 2020) The heads of Germany's 16 states have agreed on a draft proposal for extending certain elements of the country's coronavirus-related social distancing measures into December before a temporary easing of restrictions for the Christmas holidays, the mayor of Berlin, Michael Mueller, said on Tuesday, ahead of a planned meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"We came to a very good result for our discussion with the chancellor's office on Wednesday. We raised and agreed on measures for December, including for the holidays from December 23 to January 1, including New Year," Mueller said, adding that the social distancing measures are still required given the growth in the mortality rate.

As reported by Germany's Der Spiegel magazine earlier in the day, the heads of Germany's states have proposed extending the country's so-called lockdown light, which came into force on November 2, until December 20. Certain elements will be toughened, as the maximum number of people allowed to meet privately will be lowered to five from December 1, the magazine said.

Despite the spike in COVID-19 cases seen in Germany, the heads of state are proposing to allow gatherings of up to 10 people during the Christmas holidays, the magazine said.

On Tuesday, the Robert Koch Institute confirmed 13,554 new cases of COVID-19, taking Germany's case total to 942,687. The institute also reported 249 new deaths resulting from complications from the disease, taking the total death toll to 14,361.

The number of new deaths reported daily in Germany has risen dramatically over the preceding three weeks. On November 1, the institute registered just 29 deaths over a 24-hour period.