An Alpine area of southern Germany has gone into a new lockdown, the first part of the country to do so since the first Covid peak earlier this year. The 105,000 people of Berchtesgadener Land, bordering Austria, will only be allowed to leave home for essential reasons for the next two weeks.

Like much of Europe, Germany is confronting a sharp rise in infections. But the situation remains less severe than in other major Western European countries. Germany has recorded 84 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people in total over the past 14 days, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. This compares to rates of 159 for Italy, 339 for the UK, 427 for France and 343 for Spain. But the local infection rate in Berchtesgadener Land, part of the state of Bavaria, has hit 273 per 100,000 over the past week, which is why the fresh lockdown – being called a “circuit breaker” – has been imposed.(BBC)…[+]