German health minister: no ‘freedom day’ from COVID yet

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s health minister says it’s too soon to declare a ‘freedom day’ from COVID-19 as the virus continues to run rampant, claiming hundreds of lives each day. The country’s disease control agency reported 296,498 newly confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, and 288 deaths. German lawmakers voted last week to let most federal rules on wearing masks and testing expire. But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach urged the country’s 16 states Friday to use their powers to ensure social distancing and other safety measures in virus hotspots. Lauterbach said the real number of daily infections wasn’t known but could be twice that currently reported.