Germany broke its own record again on Thursday as it registered 65,000 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours. This is the first time since the pandemic began that the number has been upward of 60,000 in a single day. At the same time, the head of the country's infectious disease agency the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Lothar Wieler, warned that number could in fact be much higher. Merkel to meet with state premiersWieler's words came as Chancellor Angela Merkelwas preparing to meet with all 16 state premiers on Thursday to discuss implementing nationwide measures in an attempt to avoid the uneven restrictions that have been implemented by state and municipal governments throughout the country. The likely future ruling coalition of the Social Democrats (SPD), Green party, and Free Democrats (FDP), had indicated that they would let it expire, despite pleas from state premiers not to do so.

Source: Hindustan Times November 18, 2021 07:02 UTC