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Wednesday December 09, 2020
“If not now, then when?”
Laschet calls for a New Years lockdown
In the 7-day incidence ranking, North Rhine-Westphalia is better than other federal states. Nonetheless, Prime Minister Laschet is calling for a “real New Year’s closure”, which must be comprehensively prepared now.
North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Armin Laschet has called for a national shutdown after the holidays. “The number of new infections is too high and must be reduced,” said the CDU politician when asked by ntv.de. “So: we need a real New Years lockdown after Christmas to be able to work on a perspective towards more normalcy again for 2021.”
Discussion of a nationwide lockdown accelerated Tuesday: the National Academy of Sciences proposed a “hard lockdown” between December 24 and January 10. Saxony, the state with the highest incidence in 7 days, announced a drastic tightening of the crown measures starting next Monday. In Bavaria, third behind Thuringia in the incidence rankings, the stricter crown rules went into effect on Wednesday evening, including changing lessons in all schools from the eighth grade.
Laschet made it clear that he sees the quieter time after Christmas as an opportunity. “If not now, then when: from Christmas to the end of the New Year holidays, the country can probably be completely shut down, effectively stopping the spread of the pandemic,” the prime minister said. “At the same time, we keep the damage to educational opportunities for children, as well as the economy and employment lower than at any other time of the year.”
People’s acceptance is critical to the success of efforts, which is why Laschet even more so. For this, the political course must be characterized by diligence, proportionality and reliability ”. The head of government of North Rhine-Westphalia is committed to early coordination between the federal government and the states: “We are well advised that we start preparing for the New Year’s close comprehensively now, so that it is supported, it really unfolds. and pave the way for a better new year you can point to. “
In the event of a strict lockdown, the trade association NRW had already demanded financial compensation on Tuesday. “No one is sitting on a cushion. The liquidity situation is sometimes tense to burst,” said Peter Eighth, managing director of the NRW trade association, the “Rheinische Post.” From the point of view of the states, the federal government would be responsible for compensation.
