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On Monday, Chancellor Merkel and the prime minister will deal with the partial shutdown. However, easing is unlikely to be a problem. For once, everyone seems to agree on this.
The so-called November blockade has been in place across the country for about two weeks: restaurants and cultural establishments are closed, social contacts will be restricted again, and the requirement for masks has been expanded in many places.
On Monday, Chancellor Angela Merkel and the prime ministers of the federal states want to draw a first provisional conclusion on the stricter measures again. But it is already becoming clear that we cannot wait for conditions to be lowered. Federal government spokesman Steffen Seibert once again emphasized that “in this state of affairs, a relaxation of restrictions is not expected for Monday”:
“It cannot exist yet.”
The goal is number 50
The increase in the number of corona cases has “leveled off” a bit, Seibert continued, but they continued to rise. Today, according to the Robert Koch Institute, the number of new infections in one day has reached a new record with 23,542 confirmed infections.
In recent days, Chancellor Merkel had also repeatedly emphasized that the crown’s fight against the pandemic would still last. It will keep Germany busy throughout the winter.
Both Merkel and Seibert set a uniform goal that should be achieved with the help of the partial blockade: the incidence value of 50; In seven days, a maximum of 50 people per 100,000 inhabitants should be infected with the pathogen. Only then will health authorities be able to trace the chains of infection and the individual contacts of newly infected people, Seibert said. In recent days, however, the value was around 130.
“The virus has long slip marks”
In politics, the tenor of the federal government is widely approved. The motto is to wait and see, as the Federal Minister of Health, Jens Spahn, did in an interview with ARD morning magazine Clear:
“This virus has long slip marks. The numbers have to come down, and we are not there yet.” It is not yet possible to assess whether the measures are effective. “Today’s figures reflect the infection rate from 10 to 14 days ago,” Spahn recalled.
Approval of the heads of country
The country’s leaders also adhere to the “closing light” line decided at the end of October. The Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, and the Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer, had already stressed yesterday that it was too early to lift the restrictions.
Of course, the strict measures are “bitter and painful,” Berlin Mayor Michael Müller said today. “But nothing is clear,” he told the “Rheinische Post.” Above all, the “increasing occupation of hospitals and the occupation of intensive care beds” are cause for concern.
The Bavarian head of state, Markus Söder, also ruled out a premature softening of the partial blockade: “If we lower the figures a bit and separate too soon, we could fall into a constant alternation of blocking and opening,” he warned in an interview with the “Munich Mercury”.
Focus on schools
So Monday will probably be less about whether less needs to be done, but whether more might be needed. For example, what about schools? Can regular operations continue in view of the hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren who are in quarantine across the country?
In early November, the federal and state governments agreed that schools and daycare centers should remain open as long as possible, thus setting clear priorities in favor of education. This is now drawing criticism, especially from teachers’ associations and unions. “Whenever justifiable, we want schools to offer face-to-face classes and for nurseries to remain open,” said Schleswig-Holstein Prime Minister Daniel Günther.
However, the question arises of how schools can best organize themselves in times of pandemic to reduce the risk of infection. For example, the extension of the mask requirement is under discussion. North Rhine-Westphalia wants to screw up the Christmas holidays. In the most populous federal state, the start of the holidays should be two days early. NRW wants to better protect families against corona infection at Christmas. However, other countries think little of the idea.
Unsafe view of Christmas days
Manuela Schwesig, Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, even spoke out completely against new measures that went beyond the agreed partial closure. “I am in favor of sticking to what we agreed with the Chancellor at the last summit. And then we will decide at the end of November how to proceed.”
Above all, Christmas days in December should be able to be spent with family and friends as much as possible; the federal government and the prime minister also agree on this. “It shouldn’t be a lonely Christmas,” Merkel said.
But no one can guarantee how and to what extent Christmas could be celebrated this year, said CSU chief Söder. Government spokesman Seibert again appealed to the population to adhere to the precautionary measures.
Lauterbach assumes conditions will extend
A pessimistic look at the time after the end of the month comes from SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach. He guessed the incidence value of 50 could only be reached in seven weeks, Lauterbach wrote on Twitter. “The closing seems weaker than expected”, is his conclusion. Therefore, from his point of view, the strict measures should be extended.
