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.