Speaking in the German parliament on Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the nationwide sanctions imposed on November 2 had not proved so effective, with many now dead or in intensive care units with Covid-19.
A day after the country’s record 590 deaths were reported, Merkel became emotional as she appealed to her fellow Germans to reduce their social contacts before the holidays to protect each other, especially if they plan to visit the elderly.
“If we have a lot of contacts before Christmas now, and it ends with the last grandparents, we will fail. We shouldn’t do that,” he said at a budget session at the Bundestag.
The Chancellor added that the number of daily deaths is too high to keep some shops open, including the much-loved Waffle and Mallad wine stand during the festive season. “There are still 14 days left until Christmas and we will do everything to stop the exponential growth again,” he said.
Merkel urged federal state leaders to urgently start the Christmas holidays on December 16 instead of December 19, to help people limit their contacts and keep them apart for longer before seeing elderly relatives.
The chancellor wants to implement a complete lockdown, possibly two weeks after Christmas, to reduce the rate of infection. But for that to happen, he needs to take the leaders of all 16 states aside.
As the second wave of coronavirus infections swept across Europe in the fall, some European nations – such as France and England – imposed national lockdown measures. However, German state and federal leaders agreed on mild sanctions.
A nationwide partial lockdown was imposed which required restaurants and bars to be closed, but schools and shops remained open. People were urged to avoid travel, keep their contacts to a minimum and limit public meetings to more than five members of two different households.
These restrictions are due to the easing of the Christmas period in most of the country, allowing people to meet in groups of 10, not counting children.
While some states, like Bavaria, favor drastic action, others oppose it. Germany, meanwhile, is struggling to keep up with new infections and death rates continue to rise.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said on Wednesday that the deadliest day of the epidemic in the country had killed 90,990 people since Tuesday. According to the country’s disease and control agency, RKI, the previous record was 7 known7 known deaths.
RKI also recorded 20,815 new daily infections on Wednesday, about 3,500 more than the same day last week. The total number of Kovid-19 infections in the country is now 1,218,524.
At least 19,932 people have died in Germany due to Kovid-19, according to public health agency data. The figure is still much lower than that of allied European countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain, indicating Germany’s success in handling the first epidemic.
Health Minister: ‘It can’t go on like this’
Addressing the Bundestag, Merkel said Germany was demanding more of the second wave than the first because of progress on the Covid-19 vaccine, although the country could see “light at the end of the tunnel”.
Calling on state leaders to support the crackdown, he said it was wrong, in his opinion, that the hotels were open to you during the Christmas season, as it could encourage relatives to travel overnight.
“I also think that extending the holidays until January 10, or digital lessons, whether done anyway, but we need fewer contacts, but it is worth closing schools during this time.”
Health Minister Jens Spah echoed that message in an interview with ARD TV on Tuesday: “Costs, high mortality, high stress on our intensive care units. It can’t go on like this. We have to find each other – if some now. Even if he doesn’t want to listen. “
The head of Germany’s Interdisciplinary Agency for Intensive Care Medicine (DIVI) on Wednesday urged people not to try to visit their loved ones during the holidays.
In that interview with CNN-affiliated N-TV, the president of DIVI, Uwe Jansens, said, “At that moment you all come together for Christmas and say it will all be under control.” “Then after seven days, your grandmother has a high fever, after another seven days she is transferred to the ICU and after another three days, maybe, she is dead. Maybe then your eyes will open, but, unfortunately, it will be too late. . “
‘Strict lockdown’ in Saxony
Many German states have already decided to tighten restrictions to try to control the coronavirus situation.
The state of Saxony in southeastern Germany, officials there will call next week a “severe lockdown” in which most shops will close and schools will be relocated to nonlinear classes.
Bavaria, which has the highest number of coronavirus infections, also agreed to strict lockdown restrictions on Tuesday. Its governor, Marcus Sodere, gave an emotional speech in Bavaria’s state parliament, refusing to raise the death toll.
“I think if the reaction is just a shoulder strain it’s very awkward and very aggressive. The death toll is not just a statistic,” he said. “Of course they are mostly older people, but we are talking about our parents and grandparents. How can some people react so warmly and coldly when it comes to this topic?”
His comments come against the backdrop of skepticism in some parts of German society. Protests have erupted against the country’s anti-epidemic measures, with many protesters denying the seriousness of the virus.
CNN’s Frederick Pleijen reports from Berlin and Stephanie Halaz from London, while Laura Smith-Spark writes from London.
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