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Before provisional lock balance
Merkel is in the mood for difficult months: “Winter will demand a lot from all of us”
With a tough blockade, Austria’s Federal Chancellor Kurz made people sit down and take notice. Also in this country, the number of infections remains high. Is Germany threatened with similar drastic measures? The provisional balance is due on Monday. And Merkel is already preparing for difficult months.
A severe winter is generally understood to mean frosty weeks with storms and lots of snow. But that’s not what Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) had in mind when she put people in Germany in the mood for difficult months. “The winter ahead will demand a lot from all of us,” Merkel said in her video podcast released on Saturday, just before the provisional review of the partial closure scheduled for Monday. In line with this, the Prime Minister of Bavaria, Markus Söder (CSU), did not rule out an extension of the partial blockade, which was limited to the end of the month, nor a further tightening of the measures. Saar’s Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) made a similar statement.
“The virus will determine our lives for a long time. That also means that we cannot cope without worries,” Merkel said. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert already emphasized on Friday that the government sees no opportunity for easing. Leisure facilities and restaurants are currently closed, hotels cannot accommodate tourists.
Crown numbers only indicate slight relaxation
According to information on Saturday morning, health authorities reported 22,461 new corona infections to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in 24 hours. This is the first time in months that the value has dropped compared to a Saturday of the previous week. A week ago, the number of new infections reported was 23,399. Even if those data may be statistical outliers, there are bright spots in the corona pandemic. Even before Saturday, the rate of increase in new infections had slowed.
The 7-day incidence also did not rise as rapidly as it did in early November and was 140.4 cases in seven days per 100,000 residents on Friday. There can be several reasons for this. According to the RKI, it will take two to three weeks for the effect of the partial blockade, which has been in effect since November 2, to be reflected in the number of infections. The federal government’s goal is to reach an incidence of 50 in seven days. Only then can health authorities re-trace individual contacts made by infected people. That is not yet in sight.
Merkel is also waiting for the vaccine.
Before a virtual conversation with those in need of care, family members and caregivers on Thursday, Merkel focused on the nursing situation. “Protection against the threat of the virus is necessary, but the answer should not simply be foreclosure.” As soon as reliable vaccines are available, those responsible for caring for the sick and those in need of care can get vaccinated quickly. This also applies to risk groups, including those in need of care.
Experts await preliminary approval of a first coronavirus vaccine in Europe and the US in early 2021 after Mainz-based company Biontech and US drugmaker Pfizer reported that the vaccine they had jointly developed it was very effective.
here #without barriers: The Chancellor’s Podcast #Merkel on the next citizen dialogue on the subject #Maintenance pic.twitter.com/u3FurHzBlZ
– Steffen Seibert (@RegSsprecher) November 14, 2020
Jens Spahn: “Incredibly long skating marks”
At a state Internet assembly of the Bavarian Youth Union, Bavarian Prime Minister Söder clearly rejected an early relaxation of anti-crown measures. Until the end of November “there will be no relaxation, that does not make any sense.” Looking ahead to the federal-state consultations on Monday, he said: “If it has to be expanded, it is possible, we’ll see. If more needs to be done, then everything will be decided.”
Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) said on Saturday at the same event with a view to current crown numbers that “at least a stabilization” is now being observed. However, after that, the common goal should be to reduce the numbers. “This virus has an incredibly long slip mark,” he warned. Even with very severe restrictions, the numbers would take a long time to drop again.
Lauterbach: divided classes, lessons with a mask everywhere
Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) told a virtual conference of the SPD state party in Stuttgart: “The pandemic will keep us busy for a long time.” The conditions are correct to reduce the number of infections. “We can’t wait until the intensive care units are overcrowded.”
SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach spoke in favor of keeping schools open in any event, but cautioned against continuing school operations. He told the newspapers of the Funke media group: “We are entering a situation where school operations are becoming a high risk for children, teachers, parents and grandparents.” He advised dividing the school classes and teaching them “in winter all the time with a mask.” Children between the ages of 10 and 19 are just as contagious as adults.
The German Teachers Association demanded clear guidelines on how to proceed in schools. “Keeping schools open is not the right way,” said association president Heinz-Peter Meidinger, broadcaster NDR Info. Marlis Tepe, president of the science and education union, called on politicians to adopt alternate lessons from a seven-day incidence value of 50. “We have to protect the health of teachers, students and their parents,” he told the “Passauer Neue Presse.”
Hotel Industry Appeals: Don’t Extend Restrictions
The leader of the trade union parliamentary group Ralph Brinkhaus (CDU) wrote in one of the dpa letters to the Union deputies that “we (…) will have to make considerable efforts over the next few weeks so that much more means are not necessary strict such as curfews, store closings and mass tests, as is the case with neighboring European Companies. ”
Saarland Prime Minister Hans told Germany’s editorial network: “We must critically examine whether the measures we have taken so far are sufficient to control the infection process, or whether we and where we should improve or even exacerbate.”
The hotel and restaurant association (Dehoga) called on Merkel and prime ministers to refrain from extending the restrictions. “We hope that the decisions for December will not be made on Monday,” said Dehoga CEO Ingrid Hartges of the “Rheinische Post.” The development of the infection process must be awaited.
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