New record cases in Germany ahead of crisis talks led by Merkel

Berlin (dpa) – German health authorities posted a new record in coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Thursday as the head of the disease control body warned that the country faced a “serious emergency.”

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) put new infections at 65,371, surpassing the 60,000-mark for the first time. The seven-day incidence was 336.9 per 100,000 of the population, up from 249.1 a week ago and just 74.4 a month ago.

“We are heading into a serious emergency. We will have an extremely unpleasant Christmas if we do not act to stop this,” RKI president Lothar Wieler said during an online discussion with Michael Kretschmer, premier of the state of Saxony on Wednesday evening.

Saxony currently has the highest rate of infection nationwide with a seven-day incidence of 742.2 per 100,000.

“If we’re really going to be successful in breaking this wave, we’re not going to be able to do it by just addressing the unvaccinated group,” Kretschmer said.

The news came as parliament was set to debate the crisis, with votes expected on anti-Covid-19 proposals put forward by the three political parties set to replace the outgoing coalition following the September elections.

The Bundestag session is set to be the first major challenge for the prospective new coalition partners: the Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP.

Among other things, they want to require bus and train passengers to provide proof of vaccination, Covid-19 recovery or a recent test, and to introduce strict penalties of up to five years in prison for forgers of coronavirus documents and certificates.

Later in the day, outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel was to hold keenly anticipated talks with the premiers of the 16 states. The state premiers are seeking a unified approach to coronavirus rules and restrictions, amid a patchwork of strategies across the country.

They were to debate issues such as rules on who can access public services, hospital capacity alert thresholds and how to boost Germany’s current vaccination quota of around 68 per cent.