The German state of Bavaria canceled all of its popular Christmas markets this year due to a surge in coronavirus infections as part of broader restrictions to fight the pandemic.
“The situation is very, very serious and difficult,” state premier Markus Soeder told a news conference at which he also announced a shutdown of clubs, bars and night service at restaurants to tame the fourth wave of the outbreak.
Bavaria had a weekly incidence rate of 625.3 recorded infections per 100,000 people on Friday, according to the Robert Koch Institute infectious disease center, well above the nationwide figure of 340.7 — an all-time high for the country.
“We have a clear goal: fighting corona, protecting people and protecting the health care system,” Soeder said.
The Bavarian state capital of Munich on Tuesday had become the first major German city to cancel its upcoming Christmas market, which usually draws some three million visitors, due to a “dramatic” coronavirus resurgence.
Other smaller markets had followed suit but Soeder’s announcement reflects the increasingly drastic state of virus’s spread.—Arab News
