Germany imposes strict COVID-19 restrictions after spike in cases

April 25, 2021 KT1 US 0

A man crosses tram rails in Frankfurt, Germany, before curfew on Saturday, April 24, 2021. From the weekend on a curfew becomes effective to avoid the outspread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

A man crosses tram rails in Frankfurt, Germany, before curfew on Saturday, April 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 4:35 PM PT – Saturday, April 24, 2021

Germany is imposing another round of strict COVID-19 restrictions.

On Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged the public to accept nationwide pandemic restrictions as she hopes to curb rising infection rates.

The measures consist of a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, and added limits on personal contacts and access to non-essential stores in regions with high case numbers.

The deserted 'Budapesater Strasse' (Budapest Road) at the bottom of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, left, is pictured during a nationwide curfew in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, April 24, 2021. To reduce the number of coronavirus infections, people in Germany are not allowed to be outdoors between ten o'clock in the night and five o'clock in the morning. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

The deserted ‘Budapesater Strasse’ at the bottom of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, left, is pictured during a nationwide curfew in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, April 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

Merkel defended the restrictions after critics called them excessive and cited other countries that implemented similar measures.

FILE-In this March 30, 2021 taken photo German Chancellor Angela Merkel puts on her face mask after she briefs the media following a virtual meeting with federal state governors at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Germans to accept nationwide pandemic restrictions that came into force at midnight, resulting in nighttime curfews, further limits on personal contacts and access to non-essential stores in regions with high infection rates. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

FILE-In this March 30, 2021 taken photo, German Chancellor Angela Merkel put on her face mask after she briefed the media following a virtual meeting with federal state governors at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

“Simply put, this means the nationwide emergency brake is the instrument to break the third wave and prevent the overload of our health system,” Merkel stated. “Systematic testing is the means to enable controlled and sustainable relaxations when infection levels are low.”

Germany’s Center for Disease Control agency reported more than 23,000 new infections and 286 COVID-19 deaths.