Hulking gray boxes are rolling off the production line at a factory in Tuttlingen, ready to be shipped to the front in the next phase of Germany's battle against the coronavirus as it became the latest nation to hit the milestone of 1 million cases on Friday.

Man-sized freezers such as those manufactured by family-owned firm Binder GmbH could become a key part of the vast immunisation program the German government is preparing to roll out when the first vaccines become available next month.