German health minister advocates tougher curbs on contacts

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s health minister is advocating tougher curbs on contact between people as the country prepares for a new rise in coronavirus infections fueled by the omicron variant. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the country’s 16 state governors are set to confer Friday on charting a way forward. They’re likely to build on restrictions introduced just after Christmas that limited private gatherings to 10 people. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said in a newspaper interview published Wednesday that “tightening will unfortunately be necessary to face the serious wave that is coming our way.” He said he would make proposals, but didn’t elaborate.