FRANKFURT AM MAIN: The number of people infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus in Germany jumped sharply to 129 on Sunday, official data showed, as the interior minister said he expected a vaccine by the end of the year. The latest tally given by the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s centre for disease control and prevention, showed that the number of cases had almost doubled from 66 on Saturday morning. Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia has emerged as a hotspot after an infected couple attended carnival celebrations there, infecting dozens of people. The deadly virus has now reached nine of Germany’s 16 states, with Frankfurt, Hamburg and Bremen among the cities reporting their first Covid-19 cases. Germany has cancelled several major gatherings in a bid to curb the spread of the virus, including this week’s ITB travel trade fair in Berlin.

Source: New Strait Times March 02, 2020 03:21 UTC