“Total blockade in Germany from Wednesday” – Corriere.it

from our correspondent
BERLIN – Germany will announce a total blockade of the entire federal territory on Sunday, starting next Wednesday. Given the exponential increase in infections, which yesterday they reached 29,000 again, with 483 dead, Chancellor Merkel and the premieres of the sixteen federal Laender have reached an agreement to a series of new restrictive measures, considered absolutely necessary to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control. As of December 16, all stores will close, except for food stores, while restaurants, cafeterias, gyms, beauty salons and entertainment venues such as cinemas and theaters will be closed as of November 2. The schools and kindergartens of the node will anticipate the holidays from the same day. There are likely to be small differences from country to country, but night curfews should be introduced in most federal states.

There is still discussion about the introduction of a ban on leaving home., except for the basic necessities, but it is very likely that it will be launched in the most affected Laenders from Bavaria and Saxony. In private gatherings, the limit of 5 people, a maximum of two families, should now be applied throughout the country, while there will no longer be the relays that were originally planned for the period between December 24 and the New Year. For now, the total lockdown is scheduled until January 10., with the hope that in the meantime it will give positive results by crushing the contagion curve and above all by relieving the pressure on the health system, which in recent weeks has suffered a serious lack of personnel.

Right now, In fact, many of the ICUs available in the country cannot be used for lack of doctors and nurses.. The decision will be made officially in a videoconference between the chancellor and the governors. A new meeting is scheduled for January 4 to assess the situation. For days, the chancellor had been pressing for a change in restrictive measures, based on the conclusions of scientists from the Leopoldina Academy. In a dramatic Bundestag speech earlier in the week, Merkel had called for a total lockdown before it is too late. Even Markus Soeder, the prime minister of Bavaria, one of the Land hardest hit by the second wave, has pushed to pick up the pace.