Under new emergency measures starting from 16 December to 10 January, all non-needed schools and shops throughout Germany must be closed, as well as bars and restaurants will remain closed.

In an effort to prevent crowds in external environments during the period in question, fireworks have also been banned and drinking alcohol in public. The only relief is that up to 10 people will be allowed to gather for Christmas celebrations inside a house, while currently only 5 people from two different families are barking.

Religious celebrations in churches, mosques, and synagogues can be allowed if strict hygiene rules are followed, but songs in choir or group are not allowed.

I wish I could have made it easier. But as a result of Christmas shopping, the number of physical meetings has increased,” said Mrs. Merkel to reporters in Berlin after the federal and state leaders and leaders. “is an urgent need to act,” she added. The level of infection in Germany has reached record levels in recent days, and this country now ranks 12th in the world in the number of cases.

More than 20,000 new cases were reported by authorities on Sunday, bringing the country's total number 1,320,716nders 21,718 Germans have lost their lives by the Coronavirus. The capacity of intensive care units in that country has reached a critical level, while doctors say only 5-10 percent of intensive care beds are available in some parts of the country.

The Finance Ministry announced it was planning further support for businesses and workers influenced by the closure, saying that, “companies, self-employees and independent professionals affected by the December 16th closure will receive financial support. ”

Germany is not alone in the struggle to prevent the spread of infections, while criticism of governments for failing to prevent a second wave of pandemic in some European countries is increasing.

In Italy, Prime Minister Giuseppe Cote, who was praised for his commitment to the fight with the first wave of coronary, is being accused of pursuing a <x0amatore”> this time.

According to official data, Italy has nearly 64 thousand deaths from the Coronavirus, exceeding Britain, which for weeks has led with European deaths. The World Health Organization says Italy is registering 1,036 deaths for a million people, second after Peru.

Mr. Ctete refrained from ordering another country closure as the second wave began in September, despite calls from several regional governors. In March, it imposed a strict 10-week closure that eased the first wave.

The Italian leader has now added restrictions on the Christmas period, but some epidemiologists say the move has been too late. Italian microbiologist Andrea Crisanti said the first “Vala in Italy was bad luck, but the second unforgiving wave. A sign of poor management and amateur preparation. ”

Since September, Italy marked the record with more than 28,000 deaths from COVID.

Matteo Villa, analyst at the Institute for International Policy Research, said the government failed to prepare the health system during the period between the two waves.

“If you can act earlier, whether through light measures, they work better than harsh measures when it's late”, he said.

The assessment of Prime Minister Ctete in the polls is slipping away, while his ruling coalition is hit by evacuations and disputes over paybacks for recovery funds from the European Union. Matteo Renxi, the former prime minister, threatened to oust the government by removing his party “Italian Viva” from the coalition, which includes the populist movement Five Stars, as well as the Democratic Party.

At the beginning of the month, many European governments seemed ready to ease anti - coronary measures for the Christmas season, despite warnings from scientists and doctors.

Governments came under increased public pressure, which called for relief from the holiday spirit. This put governments in position when they had to decide how far they would go to facilitating the measures but fearing that a merry Christmas party means suffering next year. Now, most are going in the opposite direction, tightening the measures.

Last week, the French prime minister announced that, as he had warned Tuesday, the order for isolation would be abolished, but that some strict and new restrictions would be put in place at Christmas due to disturbing data.

Jean Castex hoped many other rules would be removed, but he said the virus is not allowing it. There's a new curfew set up starting at 8.

And we're not at the end of the second wave, and we're not going to be at our target that's 5,000 times a day. We know that party gatherings are dangerous. We need to increase care and be alert”, said Mr. Cassex