Merkel plans circuit-break lockdown as German virus cases surge

A 10 billion euro aid package would pay firms a share of their lost sales during the shutdown. The drastic steps, which the sources said would take effect from Nov. 2, are aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus in Europe's biggest economy as the number of new cases hit a record high.

Germany will impose an emergency lockdown to fight the coronavirus, after Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed with regional leaders to take national action to prevent hospitals being overwhelmed.

The precise measures were still subject to negotiation. Sources with knowledge of the talks said Merkel and the regional leaders had agreed to shut bars and restaurants. Other steps such as closing theatres and gyms and imposing limits on socialising outside the household were still on the table. A 10 billion euro aid package would pay firms a share of their lost sales during the shutdown.

The drastic steps, which the sources said would take effect from Nov. 2, are aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus in Europe's biggest economy as the number of new cases hit a record high. Under the new restrictions, shops would be allowed to remain open provided they respect social distancing by limiting the number of people who enter, the sources said.

Merkel is in virtual talks with the country's 16 state premiers to hammer out nationwide rules to replace a confusing patchwork of regional measures. She is expected to announce the complete package later on Wednesday. A draft of the document under discussion and seen by Reuters earlier said schools would stay open.

Merkel will also push regional leaders to agree that people will only be able to go out with members of their own and one other household. Gyms, discos and cinemas would close, as would theatres, opera houses and concert venues. Almost all areas of Germany face an exponential increase in infection rates, warned the document under discussion, and local health authorities can no longer trace all infections.

"The aim is to interrupt the dynamic of the infection fast so no far-reaching limits on personal contact and economic activity are needed over the Christmas period," it said. Germany was widely praised for keeping infection and death rates below those of many of its neighbours in the first phase of the crisis but is now in the midst of a second wave. Cases rose by 14,964 to 464,239 in the last 24 hours, Germany's infections diseases agency, the Robert Koch Institute, said on Wednesday.

Deaths jumped by 85 to 10,183, fuelling fears about the health system after Merkel warned it could hit breaking point if infections continue to spiral. "If we wait until intensive care is full, it is too late," said Health Minister Jens Spahn, who last week tested positive for the virus. ($1 = 0.8461 euros) (Additional reporting by Michael Nienaber, Holger Hansen and Michelle Adair Writing by Madeline Chambers Editing by Thomas Seythal, Michael Perry, Alison Williams and Peter Graff)