Quote:“On Tuesday the country’s disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute, recorded a seven-day incidence rate of 312 cases per 100,000 people, with several areas at more than 1,000.

A year ago, before the vaccine was introduced, the rate stood at 139,” reports the newspaper.

Quote:The state of Saxony, where 85% of ICU beds are occupied by Covid patients, became the latest to introduce so-called 2G rules in all non-essential shops and facilities, meaning only people who can prove they have been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid will be allowed entry. Saxony’s social minister, Petra Köpping, said that in addition tests would be required if the incidence continued to rise to the extent that hospitals were unable to cope. 2G is a reference to the German words for vaccinated and recovered (geimpft and genesen).

North Rhine Westphalia is due to follow suit, with unvaccinated people to be excluded from entry to all non-essential facilities and events including football matches and Christmas markets. People wanting to attend carnival events as the season kicks off will be required to take a test in addition to being vaccinated or having recovered.

Berlin is also on track to introduced similar “2G-plus” rules, its mayor, Michael Müller, said on Tuesday. The city hopes to reopen vaccine centres, which were closed across the country at the end of the summer when they were deemed no longer necessary, but authorities have said this would happen in January or February at the earliest.