Germany will be plunged into lockdown over Christmas, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases.
According to CNN, as of next Wednesday, all non-essential shops, services and schools in Germany will close until 10 January, and Christmas Day gatherings will be reduced from 10 people to only five from two different households.
Christmas church services will be subject to prior registration with no singing allowed, alcohol will be banned from all public spaces and an annual New Year’s Eve fireworks display will be cancelled.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, the country’s agency on disease control, on Sunday Germany recorded 20 200 new Covid-19 infections.