Germany’s health minister has warned that the country is seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases as the fall season begins, and urged older people to have a second booster shot that is tweaked to protect against new variants of the virus. Moreover, other European countries such as France, Denmark, and the Netherlands are also recording an increase in the number of cases, according to Karl Lauterbach. He spoke to reporters in Berlin last week. There is no doubt that we are at the beginning of a winter wave right now, he said.
In the past 24 hours, German officials have recorded 96,367 newly reported cases, which is about double the number from one week ago. The 16 states of Germany will again have the ability to implement pandemic restrictions, such as requiring residents to wear masks inside the building, starting Saturday October 1st. On long-distance trains, passengers over 14 will be required to wear FFP2 masks – similar to the US-standard N95 respirator – instead of the less-protective surgical masks previously required.