The German city of Munich has canceled its Christmas market, which attracts more than two million visitors, due to "the exponential growth" of Covid-19 infections, the mayor, Dieter Reiter announced on Tuesday (November 16).

Munich is the first major German city to make such a decision this year, in the face of the virulence of the new epidemic wave affecting Germany.

Bavaria, in the south of the country, is one of the most affected regions.

"This is bitter news (...) but the dramatic situation in our hospitals and the exponential growth in the number of infections leave me no other choice," said the elected official in a press release.

>> Read also: Covid-19: the fourth wave in Germany, a warning for the rest of Europe?

On the other hand, the city of Nuremberg, in northern Bavaria, has decided to maintain its world-famous Christmas market, she confirmed on Monday, but by organizing it this year from November 26 at four different places of the city ​​in order to avoid too large gatherings of people.

"A catastrophic situation" in hospitals

The mayor of Munich, the country's second city with more than a million and a half inhabitants, justified his decision by the desire not to send a "bad signal" when the city's hospitals are facing "a catastrophic situation ", according to their officials.

Germany, like other German-speaking countries, is facing a surge in infections due in part to a vaccination rate (67.6%) below the government's targets.

>> Read also: Covid-19: the unvaccinated, targets of new restrictive measures in Europe

Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital, is particularly affected by this wave, with a seven-day incidence rate of more than 500, behind two other regional states, Saxony and Thuringia, even more heavily affected.

The seven-day incidence recorded a new record Tuesday in Germany, at more than 312, while the number of new Covid-19 infections reached 32,048 in 24 hours, according to the Robert-Koch health watch institute ( RKI).

The Munich Christmas market was scheduled to open on November 22.

All Christmas markets, a tradition deeply rooted in Germany, were canceled last year because of the pandemic.

With AFP

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