Germany must suppress virus now or risk losing control, Merkel aide says

People wearing protective masks as they are crossing a bridge in front of the head quarter of the European Central Bank (ECB,R) during sunset as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Frankfurt, Germany, March 27, 2021. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany must bring down coronavirus infections in the next few weeks or risk new virus mutations that are resistant to vaccines, and should impose night-time curfews in regions with high caseloads, said a top aide to Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"We are in the most dangerous phase of the pandemic," Merkel's chief of staff Helge Braun told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. "The next few weeks will determine whether we can foreseeably get the pandemic under control."