Germany's COVID restrictions will be extended at least until January 10, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced following talks with the country's 16 state leaders. "Generally things will remain as they are now," she said.
Image: Markus Schreiber/AP/picture alliance
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Germany federal and state governments have agreed to extend the country's current partial lockdown until January 10, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Wednesday.
Merkel will hold talks with Germany's 16 state leaders again on January 4 to reassess the situation.
"Generally, things will remain as they are now," Merkel said.
When the December lockdown measures were initially announced, regional leaders and Merkel had made clear that the restrictions would likely apply well into January. However they only formally set them in stone until December 20, when a brief mini-amnesty period is currently planned to span the Christmas period.
What did the leaders say?
Merkel said that Germany was still "very far away" from the infection figures that the government would like to see, noting that the country registered its highest number of daily virus deaths on Wednesday, with over 480 virus fatalities over the past 24 hours.
Looking to vaccine approvals, Merkel said that some 70 million doses of both the BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines can be delivered in Germany at the beginning of 2021 if the shots are given authorization. She emphasized that the doses will not be enough to cover Germany's 80-million population and that the country needs to "get through winter."
Stricter measures could be on the horizon if the situation does not improve, said Bavaria state premier Markus Söder.
"The question is whether we can keep this country in this type of half-sleep all the time — or whether we will have to again consider taking a very clear and stricter approach in some areas," Söder said, adding that it would perhaps be better to be "stricter for a shorter time than semi-consistent for a longer time."
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What are Germany's current restrictions?
Since November, restaurants and bars across the country have been closed, except for takeaway. Entertainment facilities such as theaters and cinemas have been closed, as well as fitness studios and swimming pools.
Schools have remained open, although mandatory mask requirements have been extended. Religious services and protests have been allowed to take place due to constitutional concerns.
Christmas shine despite the coronavirus: Germany's cities are festively lit
Most Christmas markets in Germany have been canceled. What remains is festive lighting in many cities. A journey through pre-Christmas Germany: From Lübeck to Nuremberg.
Image: Martin Schutt/dpa/picture alliance
Lübeck
The Holstentor Gate without a twinkling light? Unthinkable! The seasonal decorations in the old town of Lübeck with Christmas trees, fairy lights and garlands create a pre-Christmas atmosphere, even if the traditional Christmas market had to be cancelled.
Image: Markus Scholz(dpa/picture alliance
Hamburg
In many major German cities, the boulevards are festively illuminated in the pre-Christmas period, like the trees on the Jungfernstieg quay in Hamburg. Instead of Christmas markets, individual stalls have been set up in the Hanseatic city.
Image: Daniel Reinhardt/dpa/picture alliance
Lüneburg
Christmas spirit despite coronavirus restrictions is also the theme in the Hanseatic city of Lüneburg in Lower Saxony. The markets have also been canceled here. Instead, the festive lighting in Lüneburg's alleys and in front of the town hall (pictured) is intended to put strollers in a festive mood.
Image: Philipp Schulze/dpa/picture alliance
Berlin
The German capital's many neighborhoods usually have their own Christmas market. The big markets like the one at Charlottenburg Palace or on the Gendarmenmarkt have been canceled long ago; smaller ones may still have some stalls. What definitely remains are the illuminated boulevards, including Unter den Linden, Tauentzienstrasse (photo) and Friedrichstrasse.
Image: Paul Zinken/dpa/picture alliance
Leipzig
The pre-Christmas season 2020 is very different, as can be seen from the emptiness on the large squares in city centers. They can also become more radiant, like the Christmas-lit Augustusplatz in Leipzig. The cups for mulled wine usually sold at the Christmas market can be purchased online this year, the city says.
Image: Hendrik Schmidt/dpa/picture alliance
Erfurt
The Erfurt Christmas market, which in 2020 would have been the 170th one, has also been cancelled. Instead, the Christmas tree and the Christmas pyramid on the square in front of St. Mary's Cathedral and St. Severus Church will be all the more impressive.
Image: Martin Schutt/dpa/picture alliance
Münster
Sometimes an illuminated Christmas tree is enough to mark the festive season. When the medieval center has been so charmingly reconstructed as around the Prinzipalmarkt in Münster, a Westphalian town, the city can only profit from it, maybe not from sales revenues, but in terms of atmosphere.
Image: Jürgen Fromme/firo/augenklick/picture alliance
Bochum
Bochum is also sparkling. And the elk family on the central Dr.-Ruer-Platz square has grown and developed into a small pack. By the way, some retailers of the canceled Christmas market were able to move into empty stores to offer their goods.
Image: Rupert Oberhäuser/dpa/picture alliance
Frankfurt
In front of the city hall, on the central Römerberg in Frankfurt, a lonely pine tree is a reminder that the Christmas market had to be canceled in the banking metropolis as well. This year's Christmas tree is a 21-meter (69-foot) spruce from the Gröbminger Land region of Austria. The impressive tree actually had to be cut down for a stream restoration.
Image: Michael Probst/AP Photo/picture alliance
Mainz
In Rhineland-Palatinate, too, fairy lights and Christmas trees are to create an atmosphere to make up for the Christmas markets that were canceled due to the coronavirus restrictions. In Mainz, fairy lights on the market square in front of the 1,000-year-old St. Martin's Cathedral make the unusual emptiness a little more bearable.
Image: Andreas Arnold/dpa/picture alliance
Nuremberg
Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt is probably Germany's most famous Christmas market. From the gallery of the Frauenkirche (photo), the "Christ Child" was supposed to open the market in 2020. In a video message, the actress who plays the traditional role said after the cancellation: "We will not let this spoil our enjoyment. There is so much that gives us joy, happiness and warmth."
Image: Daniel Karmann/dpa/picture alliance
Stuttgart
The Christmas lighting on the Schlossplatz square shows meter-high light sculptures like the Stuttgart horse from the city coat of arms. Instead of the cancelled Christmas market, 33 booths and stalls have been set up throughout the city center.
At the end of November, the German government and state leaders extended the measures, issuing new rules limiting private gatherings. Private meet-ups are currently limited to five people from two households, with children aged 14 exempted from the count.
Certain exceptions have been made for the Christmas holidays to allow for families to celebrate, albeit in reduced numbers. The so-called Christmas amnesty will relax the rules slightly between December 23 to January 1 — private gatherings of up to 10 people will be allowed regardless of the number of households.
