Germany's health minister tests positive for COVID-19

Germany's health minister, an epidemiologist by training who has led the country's fight against COVID-19 since December, has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach's ministry said early Friday that the 59-year-old has only light symptoms and is working from home. It said that Lauterbach has had four vaccine shots and his infection “shows that, with the highly contagious omicron variant, an infection can't be entirely ruled out even with utmost caution.” Germany, like many other countries, has seen large — though recently declining — numbers of cases this summer as new subvariants of omicron drive infections.

The government said on Wednesday that some basic restrictions would remain in place during the coming fall and winter, when experts expect COVID-19 cases to rise again as people spend more time indoors.

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