The much-loved Christmas markets that pop up each winter in German towns risk being forced to close for a second year running, thanks to a surge in Covid cases.

Germany is currently seeing a spike in new infections of the virus, recently recording more than 50,000 cases in one day for the first time since the pandemic began.

The country also has the third lowest vaccination rate in Europe, with just 67 per cent of the population fully jabbed at this stage, and has suffered from spreads of the Delta variant.

Many of the country’s Christmas markets were set to open as early as next week, with local towns eager to boost their economies after last year’s tourism slump - but local authorities are having to rethink plans amid fears about further transmission of the virus.

Berlin’s Charlottenburg Palace market was one of the first to announce its cancellation for this year, with a message on the VisitBerlin website saying: “This Christmas market in Berlin will unfortunately not take place in 2021.”

The market had been cancelled last winter for the first time in 14 years, but organisers had fully expected it to go ahead this year.

Organiser Tommy Erbe blamed politicians failing to give clear guidance for safe mingling, telling German media: “Once again, politics has failed to create clear and real conditions for organisers in time.”

Other major Christmas markets, such as Munich’s Marienplatz venue and Cologne Cathedral’s festive fair, are still listed as opening to the public from 22 November.

Saxony’s minister president, Michael Kretschmer, had earlier called for Christmas markets to close, saying: “You can’t imagine standing at the Christmas market, drinking mulled wine, while meanwhile hospitals are full and fighting over the last resources.”

These comments drew criticism from market organisers in his region who had been given the go-ahead just weeks ago to start up in time for Christmas.

“That is shoddy and irresponsible,” the organiser of Dresden’s Augustusmarkt, Holger Zastrow, told the country’s Bild newspaper. “He made a regulation himself and said that the Christmas markets are taking place. Based on this commitment, we started planning and made dealer contracts… That drives the Christmas markets to ruin.”

On Wednesday, the country’s Association of Towns and Municipalities announced that it would advocate the running of Christmas markets under what the country is calling “2G” rules - allowing only those who have been vaccinated against or recently recovered from the virus.

Local authorities such as Berlin’s are using these rules to offer different guidelines and requirements for vaccinated and unvaccinated citizens.

Many German Christmas market organisers had already put careful social distancing measures in place, with some implementing fences and planning to control the amount of visitors allowed to enter, and others insisting on proof of vaccination or proof of recovery in order to enter.

“We must take very many measures necessary to get through this winter. We must shelter our country from the winter,” said Germany’s Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a parliamentary debate yesterday.

While the country is seeing record new infections per day, the rate of Covid deaths there is still below previous peaks of the virus in April 2020, January 2021 and April 2021.

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