Disease control chief: "All of Germany is one big outbreak"

The head of Germany’s disease control agency said Friday that the country has entered into a “nationwide state of emergency” because of surging coronavirus infections

BERLIN -- Germany has entered a “nationwide state of emergency” because of surging coronavirus infections, the head of the country's disease control agency said Friday.

Lothar Wieler, the head of the Robert Koch Institute, said regular medical care cannot be guaranteed anymore in some parts of the country because hospitals and intensive care wards are overstretched.

The German air force confirmed a report by daily Bild that it was preparing to help transfer patients to clinics with free beds.

“All of Germany is one big outbreak,” Wieler told reporters in Berlin. “This is a nationwide state of emergency. We need to pull the emergency brake.”