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COVID-19, Merkel supports short national lockdown

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stated that she is in favour of a ‘short uniform lockdown’ to rein in the spread of the coronavirus. She noted that the health care system is growing under pressure and rash action is needed.

Germany has been under the yoke of a third wave of COVID-19 cases exceeding what the health care system can deal with and there has been a campaign to hasten the vaccination process due to the sluggish pace it has acquired in the past.

“Every call for a short, uniform lockdown is right,” said spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer. “Also, a common nationwide approach would be important here.”

The differing rules across the country’s 16 states “is not contributing to security and acceptance at the moment,” she added.

Germany is facing a great number of intensive care patients.

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“At the moment, we don’t have a particularly good data basis as far as the numbers of new infections are concerned. But the number of occupied intensive care beds speaks a very clear language. It is increasing very much, very strongly and very much too fast. Intensive care physicians are worried.”

“The health system is under intense pressure,” she said, underlining a 5% increase in intensive care bed occupancy in just 24 hours.

“We need a stable incidence below 100,” she said, referring to Germany’s number of new COVID-19 cases over seven days per 100,000 inhabitants.

Source: DW, Ulrike Demmer