Germany shuts down after the number of deaths by Covid has broken the record

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The country had 27,728 new cases of coronavirus, the Robert-Koch-Institute (RKI) reported, as it entered a harsh national lockdown on Wednesday in an effort to get the situation under control.

But the institute said a delay in reporting data on the great state of Saxony could be part of the reason for the surge.

The data was not sent from Saxony on Monday, so Wednesday’s report includes missing numbers for both Monday and Tuesday.

The record daily increase in cases, set on December 11, is 29,875.

Funeral directors move coffins of Covid-19 victims in Annaberg-Buchholz, Saxony, on Dec.7, as the country experiences a new wave of infections and deaths.

German leaders have raised the alarm in recent days as the country faces a terrifying spate of coronavirus infections, hospitalizations and deaths.

The head of the RKI said on Tuesday that the situation was “as serious as ever during this pandemic.”

“At the moment, far too many people are getting infected,” said Lothar Wieler, adding that Germany must be prepared for “the situation that worsens at Christmas.”

German Health Minister Jens Spahn joined a number of other European countries and called on the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to approve the vaccine soon.

He said Germany would be ready to vaccinate residents “two to four days” after approval.

“The goal is to get approval before Christmas,” Spahn told reporters at a press conference, adding, “We want to start vaccinating in Germany before the end of the year.”

Medical personnel will conduct antigen tests in the parking lot of the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany on December 14.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier addressed the nation in a rare speech on Monday, calling the situation “ deadly serious. ”

“From Wednesday, our public and private lives will be more limited than we have ever seen in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany,” he said, adding that “drastic measures” could not be avoided.

Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the lockdown on Sunday. The new rules will close non-essential stores and services, as well as schools and kindergartens, until January 10, 2021, reducing Christmas gatherings from 10 to just five from two different households.

Merkel warned the German parliament a week ago that national restrictions introduced on November 2 had not been effective and that action was needed to prevent exponential growth in the numbers.

‘If we have too many contacts before Christmas, and that is the last Christmas with the grandparents, then we have failed. We shouldn’t do that, ”she said in an unusually passionate speech.

People throng the Zeil shopping street in Frankfurt on December 15, the last day before a national lockdown.

The head of RKI’s surveillance unit, Ute Rexroth, reported rising infections and deaths, and said Germany saw twice as many infections in nursing homes as during the first coronavirus spike in spring this year.

The staggering new figures are of great concern and could send the world’s fourth largest economy into another recession. It’s a clear warning to other countries battling a Covid-19 winter wave.

Germany has previously been praised for its success in controlling the virus thanks to decisive early action, a world-class health system and an exemplary test-and-trace program.

An earlier version of this story misrepresented the gap in Saxony’s figures released Wednesday. They include both Monday and Tuesday.

CNN’s Emma Reynolds and Nadine Schmidt contributed to this report.

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