12,690 new infections in Germany – physician representatives call for nationwide lockdown extension

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German doctors’ representatives are urgently calling for a uniform nationwide extension of the lockdown: “The burden of providing patients with Covid-19 has continued to rise, even over the holidays,” Susanne Johna, president of the German doctors’ union Marburger Bund, told the Funke Mediengruppe newspapers. She added that clinics had no breathing room. “The healthcare system urgently needs relief, which can only be achieved by extending the contact restriction measures. We will not get a grip on the situation any other way.”

Representatives of the retail sector also do not expect a quick end to corona-related store closures in Germany. “I’m afraid that stores will not yet be allowed to reopen on January 10. This is because the goal of reducing the 7-day incidence nationwide to below 50 will probably not be achieved by then,” said the chief executive of the German Retail Association (HDE), Stefan Genth.

In Germany, the number of known infections with the coronavirus continues to rise. As the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Saturday, 12,690 confirmed cases were added on Friday. 336 people died within a day from or with the pathogen SARS-CoV-2. Thus, 1.76 million infections and 33,960 corona related deaths have already been counted in the most populous EU country.