Coronavirus: Germany, France look at lockdown 2.0

Berlin - People should reduce contacts outside their immediate household to “the absolute minimum necessary” and policing measures to enforce the rules will be stepped up.

Germany announced plans to shut down large swathes 
of public life for a month on Wednesday while France prepared to tighten controls further as Covid surged across Europe and financial markets tumbled at the likely cost of a second lockdown.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel met state premiers in a video conference and agreed a partial lockdown that will see bars, restaurants, cinemas, sports facilities and trade fairs closing from November 2 to November 30.

“November will be a month of truth. The increasing numbers of infections are forcing us to take tough countermeasures in order to break the second wave,” Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on Twitter after the meeting.

People should reduce contacts outside their immediate household to “the absolute minimum necessary” and policing measures to enforce the rules will be stepped up. However schools and many businesses will continue to operate and shops are allowed to remain open on condition they set strict social distancing limits.

In France, which has seen more than 50,000 new cases a day, President Emmanuel Macron will give a televised address in the evening and is expected to announce further restrictions following curfew measures introduced across much of the country last week.

• Europe