'Germany faces crucial moment in coronavirus fight amid sharp rise in cases': Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the country faces a crucial moment in its fight against coronavirus that could decide the control over COVID-19. Germany has been witnessing a sharp rise in the number of coronavirus cases and reported nearly 5,000 new cases on October 9, prompting German authorities to agree on tougher restrictions.

Merkel announced on Friday that the cities battling a steep surge in COVID-19 cases will be offered help from public health experts and soldiers to contain the virus as quickly as possible. Germany has reported over 320,000 coronavirus cases and the active cases are witnessing an exponential rise. 

“We all feel that the cities, the metropolitan areas, are the places that will determine whether we can keep the pandemic in Germany under control, just as we managed to do for months, or whether we will lose control,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin. “That’s precisely the point we’re at now.”

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Search for vaccine

Germany seemed to flatten the infection curve within weeks after an exponential rise in March and reported cases in three figures for a while. The worrying rise in the past few weeks has again forced the government to develop a vaccine as soon as possible. In August, German Health Minister Jens Spahn had said that he expects a registered COVID-19 vaccine in the coming months and definitely next year as the global vaccine race intensified after Russia’s announcement. 

"I'm optimistic that in the next months, and certainly in the next year, there can be a vaccine," the minister told German public-service television broadcaster ZDF.

However, Spahn declined to announce a specific month, saying there are several factors that need to be analysed before making such a prediction. He said that there is it yet to be determined the frequency of doses people would need to remain safe from the infectious disease or how long the immunity conferred by the vaccine would last.

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(Inputs / Image: AP)