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Day one of the partial closure in Germany: the Chancellor shows understanding for the displeasure of some people. But he asked that the rules be strictly followed. Then there is hope for Christmas.
On the first day of the crown-related partial lockdown, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) urged people in Germany to follow the new rules. “Whether this great joint effort will bring anything in the month of November depends not only on the rules, but above all on whether these rules are followed,” Merkel told the federal press conference on Monday in Berlin. “It is up to everyone to make this our mutual success this November, at a tipping point back to pandemic traceability.”
If we succeed in curbing the spread of the virus in November, “then we will create the prerequisites for a bearable December, of course still under the crown’s rules (…), but again with more freedom.” Merkel compared the corona pandemic to a natural disaster, describing it as the biggest test since the end of World War II.
Health authorities can no longer keep up with contact tracing
“We have to reduce contacts whenever possible,” Merkel asked citizens. He knows that people approached the new restrictions with great understanding and insight, but some also with “doubt, skepticism and rejection.” The heads of government at the federal and state levels had also decided “with great regret”, but “also out of conviction.”
The Chancellor referred to the tripling of the number of new infections in 14 days. The number of intensive care patients has doubled in ten days and continues to rise. More and more people “are infected and walk unnoticed” because health authorities can no longer follow up on contact.
“Acute emergency in hospitals”
In this context, the Chancellor also warned of an “acute emergency” in hospitals: “That is exponential growth, which means that we are approaching an acute emergency in our hospitals at an ever-increasing speed.” Look at the situation with concern. At colder temperatures, as in the next few months, the virus reacts “differently and more aggressively.”
Therefore, it is now necessary to “do without what makes life beautiful for four weeks.” Unfortunately, this is no longer the time when it is enough to “just do this or that little variant” of protective measures. The chancellor said that “for a long time I had weighed with the prime minister if there was a softer way, but we didn’t see it.”
Kindergartens and schools remain open
A four-week partial lockdown across Germany began on Monday, which is set to break the second crown wave. Since midnight in all federal states, hotels and restaurants, cinemas, museums and theaters, as well as other leisure facilities, are largely closed. Stricter rules also apply to face-to-face gatherings: in most federal states, only two households are allowed to meet; in some cases, this even applies to meetings in private rooms. Unlike the first closure of public life in spring, kindergartens, schools and stores will remain open this time.
Merkel defended the closure of the restoration in November and again promised those affected quick help. He would not be left alone with lost income, he said. The federal government had already decided on an emergency aid of ten billion euros. Aid must also reach culture, Merkel said. He assumed that hygiene concepts developed in the catering industry will continue to be invaluable.
“We all save a lot of money when we are sensible”
To stop the rapid spread of the virus, the main thing now is to reduce the number of contacts. Those affected should now receive help quickly and without bureaucracy. The Ministry of Economy and Finance is currently working on the concrete implementation of the emergency aid. This is intended to replace lost sales. Merkel said at the same time: “We all save a lot of money if we are sensible.” Overcoming the pandemic is the best thing for the economy.
Regarding the decision to allow religious services to continue, Merkel said: “If we leave kindergartens and schools open, all constitutional lawyers believe that religious freedom should be exercised.” Only if these had also been closed, as in March, would you have to think twice. but this time kindergartens and schools are kept open, as well as shops, and the right to practice one’s religion is a “very high right.”
Next consultation on November 16
The chancellor did not want to decide how things would go after the four-week partial shutdown. He announced that there would be another meeting with the prime ministers of the federal states on November 16. If it turns out that the measures taken now are not enough to greatly reduce the number of new infections, additional restrictions may also be necessary.
“In any case, we will politically try to do everything possible to keep it limited to November.” But even then, starting in December, there will not be a “free life” as before the pandemic, the foreign minister stressed. The rules of hygiene and distance would continue to apply. According to Merkel, this will also apply to Christmas: “It will be Christmas in Corona conditions, but it should not be Christmas alone.” She added: “I don’t think there are big fancy New Years parties.” For the gatherings of “nuclear families” at Christmas, there are suggestions for precautionary measures such as pre-quarantine, which should then be seen.
The seven-day incidence is 127.8
The Chancellor asked users of the Corona warning app to anonymously inform their contact persons who use the app in case the test result is positive. 2.57 million test results have already been transmitted through the app, and 38,000 users have passed their positive results. “Unfortunately, we have only been with 60 percent of those who tested positive and relayed their contacts, so there is still a big task ahead.” You want to encourage people to inform contact persons.
When determining the measures, the so-called seven-day incidence is decisive, that is, how many people per 100,000 inhabitants are infected again in a week. This value is currently at 127.8. “We have to go back down to less than 50,” Merkel said. Because only then can health authorities comprehensively track the chains of infection and then break them.
The light at the end of the tunnel is still “quite far”
Compared to spring, there are currently “some bright spots,” Merkel said. He mentioned more and better protective materials, rapid tests to protect people at particular risk, better medications, and the “positive outlook” for vaccines that could be approved in the coming months. “But the fact remains: as long as all this is just beginning, while the vaccine is still being developed and there are no effective medications, we will have to live with this pandemic for the next four months,” the Chancellor warned.
In the summer there was a “multitude of negligence” in the observance of hygiene and distance regulations. “You can’t afford that in the fall and winter.” You can understand the resentment and discontent of many citizens, but you still have to campaign for acceptance because there is no other way. Merkel admitted that the light at the end of the tunnel was still quite far away. However: “The virus punishes the lack of enthusiasm.”
