Germany and France Impose another Lockdown to Wrestle Coronavirus under Control

Germany and France stepped up their restrictions on businesses on Wednesday to curb the spread of the coronavirus that has been on a rise in Europe as of late.

 

On Wednesday, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, said that the country will enter a four-week lockdown of restaurants, bars, cinemas, theaters and some other such facilities starting November 2 to bring down the coronavirus infection under control.

The number of coronavirus patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) in Germany doubled over the past 10 days, stated Merkel in concerns of the capacity of Germany’s hospitals to hit its max in the coming weeks if the spreading continued at this pace.

The new restriction will limit capacity for shops, schools and daycares that remain open, while restaurants will only be available for takeout.

Germany reported a record spike of 14,964 new cases, pushing the total cases to 481,013 as of Wednesday.

 

Emmanuel Macron, French President, also announced on Wednesday that the country would go into a second lockdown on Friday throughout December 1. The new lockdown will require people to remain in their residings, while restaurants and bars will be closed.

France recorded an additional 36,437 new cases on Wednesday, raising the total confirmed cases for the country to go up to more than 1.2 million cases with a total of 35,785 deaths.