Angela Merkel wants to extend the lockdown in Germany at least until the end of February.
She communicated her intention to members of the conservative parliamentary group CDU at a meeting before tomorrow’s meeting with the leaders of the 16 states.
On Wednesday, Angela Merkel has another meeting on Corona with the leaders of the 16 states. It will probably be decided to extend the blockade, as the German press anticipates.
Here are the plans the chancellor is considering:
- The federal and state governments want to extend the current measures. This is at least the result of a first joint draft resolution for Wednesday’s Corona summit, quoted by Bild.
- What is explosive is the fact that the project says that the measures should be extended “until March XXX”. So it could be March 1, but also a later date.
If the restrictions are extended, each household should meet only one other person. The mask requirement must also remain. The recommendation to avoid unnecessary travel remains. Hygiene measures should be adapted, if necessary, due to new variants of coronavirus.
Spiegel writes that Angela Merkel is calling for an extension of the restrictions and is against the partial, currently discussed, opening of schools and kindergartens before March 1.
But not all land leaders would agree. Hesse, Saxony and Baden-Württemberg are in favor of the partial opening of schools from 15 February.
It is possible that Germany will gradually relax from March 1.
Wednesday’s Corona summit is unlikely to produce a detailed step-by-step plan. The Robert Koch Institute warns that if relaxation is too hasty, an increase in the number of cases and a new coronary emergency, as before Christmas, is possible by the end of March at the latest. Instead of weakening the measures, RKI called for even more restrictions.
Mutations cause concern
Coronavirus mutations do not seem to be the dominant variants in Germany yet, but the situation can change quickly.
According to data from the Robert Koch Institute, the British variant B 1.1.7 represents almost 6% of the positive corona samples in this country. However, the figures refer to the last week of January.
More recent data are expected, especially as the federal and state governments discuss other measures on Wednesday and therefore want to assess the situation as best they can.
According to Ntv and RTL, Chancellor Angela Merkel now considers a significantly higher proportion. “20% of all crown infections are currently due to mutations,” the chancellor said at a meeting with CDU lawmakers. This would be a significant increase.
Reliable data on the spread of virus mutations in Germany should also be available for the first time at the Corona summit on 10 February.
The second wave of the pandemic has stopped, but of course it is not over yet. ” This is how the federal government is currently assessing the crown situation, as government spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Monday. The target of an incidence below 50 has not yet been reached everywhere.
Source: Ziarulromanesc.de,Afronews.de