Disease control chief: “All of Germany is one big outbreak”

By FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — The head of Germany’s disease control agency said Friday that the country has entered into a “nationwide state of emergency” because of surging coronavirus infections. The head of the Robert Koch Institute said regular medical care cannot be guaranteed anymore in some parts of the country because hospitals and intensive care wards are overstretched. He called for urgent additional measures to tackle the rise in COVID-19 cases, which topped 50,000 for the third day running. Lothar Wieler told reporters in Berlin that “all of Germany is one big outbreak” and called for an “emergency brake.” His comments came as the upper house of parliament on Friday approved new measures against the outbreak proposed by the center-left alliance that emerged after the Sept. 26 national election.