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Tuesday, November 10, 2020
By Nikolaus Blome and Franca Lehfeldt
Fears are growing in the CDU that extending the current contact restrictions until Christmas could damage acceptance of the crown’s rules. Chancellor Merkel is concerned about the numbers for intensive care beds.
“We don’t need to talk about easing. We may have to step up,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said on the CDU Presidium conference call Monday morning. At the Berlin Charité, other operations have already been postponed to keep beds free in intensive care units for severe cases of corona. She worries a lot, Merkel said after receiving ntv information from participant circles.
Above all, however, this contradicts the hopes of millions of citizens who expect the current contact restrictions to be relaxed before Christmas. Without such relaxation, gatherings of people from more than two households would remain “unacceptable”, as indicated in the latest resolution of Merkel’s meeting with the prime ministers of the federal states. Or they would be totally prohibited, as in Bavaria, including the threat of punishment.
Common family celebrations under the Christmas tree usually involve more than two households. Grandparents, adult children, siblings, and grandchildren: Millions of Germans travel across the country at Christmas time to spend their days together. Bad for Germans with strict Corona rules? The Chancellor is clearly concerned about this, and not just about her.
At the CDU presidium meeting, Secretary General Paul Ziemiak warned: If people are not allowed to see their families during the holidays, accepting and understanding Corona’s rules could seriously harm and lead to massive violations. Perhaps you could ask people to divide their family gatherings over the three Christmas holidays, but there is no more you can do, he said. There was similar skepticism when it came to the question of whether the current accommodation ban should be maintained over the Christmas period.
Next Friday, the heads of state chancelleries of the state will advise on how to deal with visitors and travel on Christmas. Deutsche Bahn should also make suggestions on how to handle the expected rush of passengers without people having to sit together in compartments or stand in the aisles of trains, as in previous years. Merkel and the prime ministers will meet again on Monday and want to make decisions.
