Germany’s total coronavirus cases exceeded 1 million for the first time late Thursday, passing the grim milestone around 10 months after the country reported the first infections. Cases in Europe’s biggest economy have more than tripled since the start of October, with the number of people with the disease in intensive care climbing to record levels. Germany recorded 21,951 new infections in the 24 hours through Friday morning, taking the total to 1,017,830, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The number of deaths rose by 430, the biggest gain since April 16’s record of 510. Like other European nations, Germany has imposed stricter measures in recent weeks to stop the disease from spreading. Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Germany’s 16 states agreed Wednesday to tighten limits on private gatherings but kept schools and most businesses operating to help limit the impact on the economy. In contrast to nations like France and the UK, Germany’s curbs have yielded little progress in slowing the disease’s spread. Infection levels are still nearly three times the government’s target rate and fatalities have exceeded 300 for four straight days, the first time that’s occurred since the start of the pandemic. AstraZeneca to run fresh vaccine trial after issues with current test “The case numbers have stagnated at far too high a level,” Merkel told lawmakers on Thursday. She wants the seven-day incidence per 100,000 citizens to come down to around 50 – and stay there – before restrictions can be loosened. It was at 138 on Thursday, according to the latest report from the RKI public health institute. “We undoubtedly have some difficult months ahead of us again,” Merkel said before urging citizens to do everything they can to avoid a “worst-case scenario”. The chancellor said restrictions will likely remain in place until early January, while her chief of staff raised the possibility of them being extended until March. On a more positive note, Merkel said it’s possible that a vaccine for the virus will be available before Christmas. Germany is hoping to ramp up its immunisation drive in the first quarter of 2021 and is already laying the groundwork for 60 hubs across the country. While Health Minister Jens Spahn insists that vaccination will not be compulsory, Merkel told parliament that vaccines represented “a light at the end of the tunnel” for Germany. The federal government will be responsible for the purchase and delivery of the jabs, while the regional states will provide equipment and choose the locations for the vaccination centres. Culled mink rise from graves in Denmark after botched mass burial One of them will be Berlin’s Tegel airport, which closed for good in November. Thousands of people are soon expected to start walking through its doors again every day, once its Terminal C building has been refitted as a vaccination centre from mid-December. At Tegel, “we will be vaccinating 3,000 to 4,000 people a day,” Albrecht Broemme, in charge of setting up the German capital’s vaccination centres, said. Another former airport, Tempelhof – which has been variously used as a refugee centre, a velodrome and an ice rink in the past – has also been designated as a vaccination centre. Germany already has a shortage of hospital staff, so the authorities are hoping to draw on retired nurses, medical students and even flight attendants in need of work. Elsewhere in Europe, preparations appear mixed. In Spain, the government aims to vaccinate a substantial part of its population in the first half of 2021 and has opted to use trucks rather than centres to distribute the shots. Italy expects to have vaccinated most Italians by next September and is due to set out detailed plans on December 2. France has said it could start administering shots as soon as the end of the year and will unveil its strategy next week. Britain plans to roll out vaccines using a mixture of centres and doctors’ practices and is aiming to have enough shots to have some sort of normality after Easter. In contrast, Hungary and Bulgaria are not expecting to receive their first shipments until Spring. Globally, more than 60 million infections and 1.4 million deaths have been recorded since the new coronavirus was detected in China late last year. Bloomberg, Reuters and Agence France-Presse