GERMANY SEEKS NAT’L SOLUTION TO STOP COVID INFECTIONS

The debate over a national solution to stem Germany's coronavirus infection numbers is at a crunch point ahead of an expected cabinet decision on Tuesday, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

A day before the cabinet meeting, government spokesperson Steffen Seibert said the discussions between the 16 federal states and the central government in Berlin were now focusing on individual aspects of the so-called "emergency brake."

The brake would be a set of anti-coronavirus restrictions that kick in if the seven-day incidence rate of infections goes above 100 in any given region in the country, including possibly a controversial nighttime curfew.

A rate of 100 means that on average over the past week, 100 people have been newly infected with the coronavirus per 100,000 people in the population, which is currently the case in some 300 parts of the country, Seibert said.

In 50 districts, the incidence rate is over 200. Nationally the rate is 136.2, the highest in four months. Currently, separate states can set their own policies on anti-coronavirus restrictions, but the inconsistency has led to calls for a federal approach, written into law.

WEEKLY FEATURE : TRUEMONEY PHILIPPINES BUCKS THE COVID-19 CHALLENGE