2 Nov 2020

German residents prepare for new lockdown

From Morning Report, 6:16 am on 2 November 2020

German residents are preparing for four weeks indoors in a national lockdown that begins today.

On Saturday, the country hit a record 19,059 new cases in 24 hours, and another 103 deaths.

In September, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned the country could see 19-thousand cases a day by Christmas.

As the figures surpassed Chancellor Merkel's predictions, she said she had to act now "to avoid an acute national health emergency".

Reporter Thomas Sparrow is in Berlin.