Germany sets new record of 6,638 cases in 24 hours -
Michael Kappeler / AP / SIPA
According to official data released Thursday, Germany has counted 6,638 cases of coronavirus in 24 hours.
A record for the country since the start of the pandemic.
The previous highest toll of daily contaminations was March 28 with 6,294 cases.
Chancellor Angela Merkel brought together officials from the 16 regional states on Wednesday evening and announced the introduction of new, more restrictive measures.
Gatherings limited to 15 in private rooms
For example, the number of participants in private events will be limited in regions registering more than 35 new contaminations per 100,000 inhabitants over seven days.
In these areas, masks will be mandatory wherever people are close to each other for a period of time.
Gatherings will be limited to 25 people in public establishments and 15 in private rooms.
"I am convinced that what we are going to do now will determine how we get through this pandemic," commented the Chancellor.
"We can see (…) that the rate of infections is increasing and that in some regions it is very high", she added.
“This is the reason why we must prevent uncontrolled or exponential growth.
"
More draconian rules provided as needed
If the figure of 50 new contaminations per 100,000 inhabitants is crossed, even more draconian rules will be imposed, such as the limitation of private meetings to ten people from two households maximum and the closure of restaurants at 11 p.m.
The federal government and the Länder, which are responsible for health policies, spent eight hours on Wednesday drafting these rules which attempt to unify extremely disparate situations, a consequence of federalism.
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Angela Merkel
Germany
Coronavirus
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