Germany to go into full lockdown from Wednesday

German chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of the country’s 16 federal states on Sunday approved tougher nationwide lockdown restrictions amid record-breaking coronavirus infection and death rates, reported EFE-EPA.

Germany set national records for the highest number of cases and deaths on Friday, and officials are warning that some of the country’s regional health systems are on the verge of becoming overwhelmed.

The new restrictions will force all non-essential shops to close, a bitter blow to retailers just before the Christmas holiday season, normally their busiest and most profitable time of the year.

The measures will be in effect from Wednesday until at least January 10.

"We are forced to act, and are acting now," Merkel told a press conference after the meeting on Sunday.

Schools and kindergartens have been urged to send pupils home and continue teaching online, while employers have been encouraged to let people work from home.

With daycare centers also being forced to close, parents will be allowed to take paid vacation for childcaring purposes. The school holidays will also be extended until January 10.

There is also a ban on drinking alcohol in public, while celebrations to mark New Year's - including fireworks displays - will not be allowed.

Religious services, however, will be permitted as long as hygiene and distancing measures are respected.

Germany has been under a partial lockdown since November, when bars and restaurants closed except for takeaway or delivery services, while shops were allowed to stay open with certain capacity and hygiene measures in place.

But those restrictions have not succeeded in curbing the second wave of the pandemic.

For weeks, Merkel has been calling for Covid measures to be stepped up in order to allow for families to celebrate Christmas together.

In an impassioned speech to the Bundestag on Wednesday, she said: “As hard as it is - and I know how much love has gone into setting up the mulled wine stands and waffle stands - this is not compatible with the agreement we made to only take food away to eat at home.”

“I’m really sorry from the bottom of my heart. But if the price we pay is 590 deaths a day, then that is unacceptable in my view,” she said.

Some regions have resisted those calls, while others, such as Saxony and Bavaria, have already imposed tougher restrictions.

The chancellor has struggled to convince the regional leaders to commit to a coordinated national response. The federal government is not responsible for health policies, an area that is under the purview of the state prime ministers.

In late November, before the caseload had spiked to near unmanageable levels, plans were in place to keep the partial lockdown until January but to grant a brief amnesty period over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday, to allow up to 10 people from a maximum of two households to celebrate together.

However, amid worrying infection, hospitalization and death rates, that approach has been thrown out. Instead, the new lockdown measures allow for gatherings between December 24-26 with up to five immediate family members, plus young children under 15.

“Today’s numbers are higher than ever. We need a fundamental lockdown as soon as possible,” Bavarian prime minister Markus Söder said on Twitter on Friday.

“Every day counts. Why hesitate when we know it is necessary? Therefore: do everything now and act decisively. We have to lockdown before Christmas.”

The German Interdisciplinary Association of Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI), meanwhile, also issued a statement on Friday calling for an immediate halt to public life across the country, warning that otherwise hospitals could collapse.

"What are we waiting for? Another 14 days with an attitude of 'close your eyes and see what happens' are not justifiable given the current figures," said DIVI’s president, Uwe Janssens.