Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, was heckled by opposition MPs during a speech to parliament on Thursday when she took aim at groups spreading “lies and disinformation” as the country continues to battle coronavirus. The speech – which took place the morning after Mrs Merkel announced a range of sweeping measures to tackle the spread of the virus – warned that the German people find themselves in a “dramatic situation”. On Thursday morning, Germany recorded 16,774 new daily coronavirus infections, the highest number of new cases within a 24-hour period since the pandemic began.
