BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s health minister demanded that the European Union’s regulatory agency work faster to approve a coronavirus vaccine and bring an end to the suffering on the continent, while other officials suggested Monday that residents should forgo Christmas shopping as a new lockdown loomed that will close schools and most stores.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and the governors of Germany’s 16 states agreed Sunday to step up the country’s lockdown measures beginning Wednesday and running to Jan. 10 to stop the exponential rise of COVID-19 cases. Merkel said existing restrictions imposed in November failed to significantly reduce the number of new infections. Germany has been hitting records of new daily infections and virus deaths in recent weeks.