Germany Hits Lockdown

Medical experts in Germany are urgently calling for two-week lockdown, faster vaccinations and compulsory tests at schools to break a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, following a new surge in the number of coronavirus cases globally with about 1000 patients ending up in intensive care since the middle of March…

Germany urgently needs a two-week lockdown, faster vaccinations and compulsory tests at schools to break a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, following a new surge in the number of coronavirus cases

According to reports, about 1,000 additional patients had ended up in intensive care since the middle of March with a total of 3,680 people currently in intensive care in Germany.

Meanwhile, the nation’s Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing growing criticism for failing to spell out a plan to reverse rising coronavirus infections in Germany and blaming uncooperative state premiers for increasingly chaotic management of the crisis.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose 24,300 to 2.833 million on Thursday, the biggest increase since Jan. 14 and the reported death toll rose by 201 to 76,543. The number of cases per 100,000 in the last seven days, which the government has used as a key metric to decide on lockdown steps, rose to 134 from 132 on Wednesday and up from 113 a week ago.

This has lead to medical experts in the country calling for a hard lockdown for two weeks, compulsory tests at schools twice a week and much faster shots at vaccination centres and doctors’ practices.

The premiers of two southern German states badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic urged leaders in the rest of the country on Wednesday to reintroduce tougher lockdown measures to try to contain the third wave of infections