Germany sees surge in COVID cases, mulls new restrictions

Germany's disease control agency reported 52,826 new coronavirus cases on Nov. 17, a number that has roughly doubled in two weeks, stoking calls for fresh measures to curb the country's steadily rising infections.

The Robert Koch Institute said 294 more people died in Germany of COVID-19 in the last day, bringing the country's pandemic death toll to 98,274. The number of infections recorded since the start of the pandemic has reached almost 5.13 million.

"The current pandemic situation in Germany is dramatic, I can't say it any other way," outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel said. "The fourth wave is hitting our country with full force."

The World Health Organization on Tuesday also cited Germany, along with Russia and Britain, as the countries with the most new cases in Europe.

The three political parties negotiating to form Germany's next government have agreed on a series of public health measures for parliament to debate on Thursday, German news agency dpa reported.

They include stricter anti-virus workplace rules and sharply increasing the penalties for forging vaccine passports or test certificates to allow up to five years in prison for professional gangs selling such fakes, according to dpa.

Employees would also get the right to work from home again, where possible.

Infections have shot up in recent weeks, particularly among unvaccinated people, with southern and eastern Germany the hardest hit.

The district of Meissen, near Dresden, reported almost 1,305 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the past week.

Saxony state, where Meissen is located, plans to introduce new social distancing rules and to require people to show vaccine passports or recovery certificates to enter all stores except...