At least 20 homeless people in Germany have died this winter amid particularly low temperatures and heavy snowfalls the homeless charity BAG Wohnungslosenhilfe reported on Friday.

The numbers continued to climb as many parts of the country experienced negative temperatures in the double digits. The number of deaths was the highest recorded since the winter of 1996 - 1997 when 25 homeless people died, the local newspaper Berliner Morgenpost reported.

The manager of the Wohnungslosenhilfe charity, Werena Rosenke, told the Berliner Morgenpost that "they froze to death in the open, under bridges, on park benches, in doorways, under tarpaulin, in tents and other makeshift shelters."

Pandemic hindering homeless aid

Rosenke explained that the particularly cold winter was exacerbated by the coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

"Many services offered by independent organizations had to be restricted in order to implement the necessary infection protection measures," she said.

Many homeless people, some of whom are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 infections, avoid homeless shelters for fear of catching the virus. "These people expose themselves to the dangers of the cold outdoors," Rosecke explained.

While some cities had opened up hotels and hostels as alternative shelters, not all municipalities had "created sufficient additional accommodation," Rosecke said.

Wolfgang Strengmann-Kuhn, a spokesman from the Green Party, spoke to the Berliner Morgenpost, saying: "We expect the government to put together a national action plan."

"We have to work together with federal states and municipalities on a strategy to eliminate homelessness," Strengmann-Kuhn said.

Childbirth in extreme circumstances

A police patrol patrol in Nuremberg discovered a 20-year-old homeless woman with a newborn baby sleeping outdoors in temperatures of minus 15 degrees Celsius (-5 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday morning, various news agencies reported.

The woman gave birth on top of a ventilation grate outside a subway station in the Bavarian city in the early hours of the morning.

She was found with her baby and a companion huddled in a sleeping bag to try and keep warm. The authorities transported her to a hospital to receive treatment and be kept under observation.