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Germany is heading for a tough lockdown that will last up to three weeks before Christmas. Berlin Mayor Michael Müller (SPD), who is also chairman of the Prime Minister’s Conference, said Thursday evening that it was becoming clear, also in discussions with colleagues from the federal states, “that there will be significant cuts. from 20 “and the retail sector will be closed” clearly “.
Total lockdown between December 20 and January 10?
School holidays would have started anyway, many people were no longer going to work, and local transport would be quieter. “Between December 20 and January 10, we have practically three weeks of massive restrictions, which will undoubtedly also lead to the incidence going down,” Müller told the ZDF “Markus Lanz” program. On Friday, the RKI reported a new record for daily new infections and deaths from corona in Germany.
Müller expressed the expectation that the Prime Minister’s Conference will agree that public life will be largely closed in these three weeks. That is also emerging. Even those whose countries had a low number of infections now said that one was in a situation of national crisis in which solidarity had to be shown. The urgent appeals of Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) were very helpful here.
Söder for the “complete lockdown” after Christmas
Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) had already spoken in favor of a “complete lockdown” from Christmas until Wednesday 10 January. The president of the Bavarian Red Cross (BRK), former CSU Cham district administrator Theo Zellner, even called for an immediate and complete shutdown of the “idowa” media portal, also to better protect caregivers.
Green leader Annalena Baerbock sees it similarly. She is calling for a much tougher lockdown across the country with stores closed in the fight against the corona pandemic starting next week. Stores other than for daily needs should be closed, schools should switch to distance learning from the seventh grade, Baerbock told the German Press Agency on Friday. “We should start a clear Christmas break now. We have to break the dynamics of the infection process,” he stressed in view of the high levels of new infections and reported deaths.
Several prime ministers had campaigned for a common line of the federal states. Schleswig-Holstein Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) said Thursday that he assumed the federal and state governments would consult on Sunday. “Spiegel” also reported that the federal states want to connect with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) on Sunday.
Retail too: grocery stores stay open
Lower Saxony Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) named a period similar to Müller’s. “I’m assuming that between December 19 and January 10 we will have a very, very quiet phase in Germany in general. And that has to be,” Weil said in a “special” on ZDF. On Thursday, the Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig (SPD), also spoke in favor of closing the retail trade, with the exception of grocery stores, already in the fourth Advent.
The Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer (SPD), said on the ZDF program “Maybrit Illner”: “I think we also have to be very strict on Christmas and in any case on New Year’s Eve.” Federal Minister for the Family, Franziska Giffey (SPD), recommended that citizens of the “Rheinische Post” “only meet in the smallest circle and avoid visiting relatives during the holidays if possible.”
Trade association demands compensation as with gastronomy
Federal Minister of the Economy, Peter Altmaier, expressed his concern about the current development of the same program. “The exponential growth is starting again. And that means: you have to act urgently ”. The CDU politician added: “We have to act more than expected.”
The retail sector is concerned about the Christmas business. The managing director of the German Trade Association (HDE), Stefan Genth, claimed compensation in the “Welt” in case of store closures “analogous to catering in the months of November and December”. Otherwise, there would be a conflagration in city centers, Genth warned.
