Merkel: It will be decided in the coming weeks whether the epidemic will remain under control



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In an informational meeting with the leaders of the 11 largest cities, the head of government emphasized that large cities are the most important areas of epidemiological control.

The effectiveness of the work carried out in the largest settlements and their area of ​​influence determines the situation in which the country cuts it off for the winter. So far the defense has worked well, but worrying developments have occurred in recent weeks. Therefore, new restrictions should be introduced wherever the number of new infections approaches the critical limit, Angela Merkel said.

According to the agreement between the Prime Minister and the mayors, as soon as the number of registered infections per 100,000 in the previous seven days exceeds 35, the Robert Koch National Institute of Public Health (RKI) and the Army (Bundeswehr) will send experts the local crisis team and health offices. support for.

Angela Merkel emphasized in this regard that the most important thing is to be able to reveal the possible ways of spreading the virus with each infection, otherwise the pathogen will be released and the epidemic will become uncontrollable.

According to the agreement, no later than when the number of infections per 100,000 inhabitants registered in the previous seven days exceeds 50, additional measures to control the epidemic must be introduced, including more extensive rules for the use of masks, restrictions on the opening of shops and restaurants and participants in public and private events.

The first austerity measures have already come into effect in the largest cities, in Frankfurt, for example, a mask must be worn in the city center from Friday, and in Berlin, all restaurants and shops must be closed. from 11pm to 6am on Saturdays.

Angela Merkel underscored the need to avoid a national shortage that became necessary during the first wave of the epidemic. The functioning of the economy and social life, in particular the educational system, must be maintained.

This is not impossible, “we are not exposed to the virus,” said the German chancellor, stressing that based on the successes and experiences of recent months, the defense can still be effective, but for that everyone must follow basic rules: use a mask, stay away, wash hands frequently. – which must be complemented with the practice of regular and complete ventilation during the autumn-winter period.

Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder, who met Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in Bad Reichenhall, on the Bavarian-Austrian border, made a similar statement on Friday. In a statement made before the meeting, he stressed that the epidemic situation on both sides of the border was extremely serious. However, the methods used at the time of the first wave of the epidemic, the short circuit that paralyzes the functioning of the economy and society, should be avoided, and the crossings should be kept open.

Söder, who holds the German provincial prime minister’s conciliation forum, chaired the prime minister’s conference, said more work is needed to curb the epidemic strategy due to the catastrophic increase in infections, so the board will probably need to be convened. again next week. check with Angela Merkel.

According to RKI data on Friday, there have been 4,516 new infections in the last 24 hours. This is the highest number since April 10, when 5323 cases were included in the statistics. 4133

Along with the new infections, SARS-Cov-2 was detected in 314,660 people. The number of deaths associated with the disease caused by the virus (Covid-19) increased from 11 to 9,589. The seven-day moving average of the virus reproduction rate (R) is 1.22, which means that every 100 infected people transmit the virus on average to 122 more people.

Cover image: Alexander Becher – Pool / Getty Images



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