German far-right AfD party cancels congress due to COVID

BERLIN (AP) — The far-right Alternative for Germany, which has opposed many of the country’s pandemic restrictions, has canceled its planned party congress next month due to the surge in coronavirus cases. Germany has seen record infection rates in recent days and this week passed the mark of 100,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Alternative for Germany’s co-leaders said Friday that the decision to postpone the Dec. 11-12 meeting had been taken out of “duty of care and responsibility for the members, delegates, but in particular also all AfD staff as well as service personnel.” Several AfD officials, including one of the leaders of the party’s parliamentary caucus, have contracted the virus.