Silent Nights: Germany Bans Singing, Fireworks In "Hard Lockdown"

Christmas and New Year will be quiet in Germany as the country braces for another "hard" lockdown in an attempt to cut coronavirus infections, The Telegraph reported Monday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday after consultation with the country's 16 federal state officials that "we're forced to act and we're acting now." She said restrictions in November failed to contain the number of new COVID cases.

The country will shut schools, nonessential stores and services. There will be prohibitions on private gatherings starting Wednesday until at least the first week of January. Essential stores, like those selling food, will stay open, as can banks.

A ban on singing and the sale of fireworks has been ordered. Religious services will be allowed - on the condition minimum distancing rules are in place and face coverings are worn.

Germany posted record daily fatalities Friday with 598 deaths reported in 24 hours. On Sunday, the country recorded 20,200 new infections - 2,000 more compared with Sunday last week, the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's agency for disease control, said.

Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder said if it was not careful Germany might quickly become the "problem child'' of Europe. Bavaria is among the pandemic's hardest hit Europe states.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said affected businesses would be given up to 500,000 euros ($605,000) in government relief per month. Companies will be asked to let employees work from home, where possible, for the next month.

Germany's Hospital Federation welcomed the new restrictions but called it "difficult to comprehend" why the European Medicines Agency had not yet authorized the first COVID vaccine.