General
Germany ramps up national coronavirus lockdown ahead of Christmas
Germany has ratcheted up its pandemic restrictions ahead of Christmas in an effort to cut the stubbornly high rate of coronavirus infections.
Key points:
- An outdoor alcohol ban will eliminate Germany’s tradition of drinking mulled wine
- Hospitals asked for a ban on fireworks because they didn’t have the capacity to treat the injured
- They also want Europe to hurry up and approve vaccines
Chancellor Angela Merkel said the country’s governors had agreed to step up the country’s lockdown measures from Wednesday until at least January 10 to stop an exponential rise of COVID-19 cases.
“We are forced to act and we’re acting,” Ms Merkel said, noting that existing restrictions imposed in November had failed to significantly reduce the number of new…
-
General18 hours agoDefence minister won’t say if security agencies or Trump administration pushed for Darwin Port backflip
-
General15 hours agoPoliticians asked how to Trump-proof Australia’s fragile economy on Q+A
-
General18 hours agoAsian, European stocks nosedive on tariff turmoil
-
General15 hours agoAsia stocks plunge, HK suffers steepest fall since 1997