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Germany Enters Strict Monthlong Lockdown to Curb Escalating Coronavirus Cases

VOA News

   A new set of tight restrictions took effect Wednesday in Germany in an
   attempt to curb a rising number of coronavirus infections and deaths.

   The hard lockdown mandates the closing of all non-essential businesses
   and limits private gatherings to no more than five people. The
   restrictions, which will remain in effect until January 10, were
   imposed by Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday after talks with
   Germany's 16 regional governors. The government's Robert Koch
   Institute, the country's central disease control center, reported 952
   coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, shattering the previous single-day
   record of 598 posted just last Friday.

   Germany's seven-day incidence of new cases has also set a record,
   rising to nearly 180 per 100,000.

   Health Minister Jens Spahn called on the European Union's regulatory
   agency late Tuesday to give final approval of the vaccine jointly
   developed by U.S. drug maker Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech by Christmas
   Day. The vaccine is currently being administered to health care workers
   in Britain and the United States, after government regulators quickly
   approved its use after a thorough review process.

   Meanwhile, the United States is on the cusp of getting a second
   coronavirus vaccine.

   Regulators with the Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that
   its preliminary analysis of a vaccine developed by Moderna and the
   National Institutes of Health confirmed its safety and effectiveness.

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