BERLIN: Germany might tighten its restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Health Minister Jens Spahn said, as the European Union’s most populous country struggles to bring down the number of new infections.
“A short and comprehensive approach to really make a difference is probably more successful. If we don’t get there within the next one or two weeks until Christmas, we have to discuss it,” Spahn told public broadcaster Phoenix, according to comments distributed late on Monday.
Spahn did not rule out lockdown measures that would affect retailers, the TV station added.
Germany introduced a partial lockdown in early November and banned in-door dining in restaurants. Shops and schools remain open.
Political leaders believe the restrictions prevented further exponential growth of new infections, but numbers have plateaued. Germany reported 487 deaths on a single day last week, the highest number since the start of the pandemic.
COVID-19 lockdown hurts Germany’s services sectorGermany’s Merkel pushes for tougher coronavirus curbs in schools, close contacts
These are the first feathers ever found in fossilized dinosaur poop 
See the secret to DNA hookups 
Meet the newest living cat species, the first described in 100 years 
This year’s El Niño just broke a record months before it’s expected to peak 
Finally, a true blue rose exists 
First series of adult T. rex footprints hints at its walking speed 
Lavrov issues call for new Eurasian ‘security architecture’ 
Cuba warns against ‘law of the jungle’ as Foreign Minister denounces US pressure 
Saudi Arabia warns Gulf security inseparable from global stability amid regional tensions 
Countries far from conflict paying the price for wars not their own, India tells UN