Germany’s federal government and state leaders agreed on Wednesday to extend the nationwide shutdown until March 7, beyond the previous February 14 deadline. The current shutdown began in November and was extended and toughened before Christmas, with the number of COVID-19 patients threatening to overwhelm hospitals. A leaked draft statement on Tuesday stated that Germany had made progress in curbing the rate of infection. A decision paper released after the meeting said Chancellor Angela Merkel and the state leaders would meet again on March 3 to assess the situation. Another variant from South Africa has also been reported several times in Germany.

Source: Egypt Independent February 10, 2021 20:48 UTC