German Chancellor Angela Merkel and government have plans to extend the strict COVID measures to fight the pandemic until March 14 – according to a draft text.
This comes as a blow for many who already felt the January extension was a kick in the guts. The number of infections has reduced but there’s also the risk of the new COVID variant that has already infected people in the country and is proving to be more deadly and spreads much easier. We wrote about it HERE.
The document is yet to to be approved by the leaders.
Merkel and the regional premiers are due to hold crunch talks later on Wednesday on how to deal with the coronavirus situation. The current measures are due to expire on February 14th.
The Local.de reported that the draft text stresses that schools and daycare centres should be ‘the first to gradually reopen’ but that it is for individual states to decide how and when.
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Some states have already said they want to open schools earlier.
Hairdressers could reopen on March 1st, the document suggests, if they take the necessary hygiene precautions.
It also raises the prospect of museums, galleries and some services restarting once the virus incidence rate falls to 35 new cases per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period.
“Whether and when the next opening steps can take place will be decided at the joint meeting on March 10th in the light of the development of the infection figures,” the paper states.
Source: Afronews.de, Local.de