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Merkel and the heads of government of the 16 Länder responsible for tightening or relaxing the agreed measures on partial quarantine during a meeting in videoconference format. The restrictions are expected to go into effect Monday and last until the end of November.
It was decided to close restaurants, bars, cinemas, theaters and other entertainment establishments for four weeks to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus.
“We need to act now to avoid a deep national health crisis. These are strict measures,” Merkel warned.
Markel said the number of patients in intensive care units has doubled in the past ten days, so if the pandemic continues to grow at its current rate, the health care system will not be able to cope with the burdens, Reuters reports.
According to Kacler, companies affected by the partial closure of the country will receive financial support of up to 10 billion. euros.
He added that the country has reached a point where 75% of infections are already untraceable.
However, schools and stores will continue to operate, unlike the previous quarantine introduced during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April. Caterers will also be able to serve take away food to customers.
The chancellor urged people to avoid unnecessary travel and said hotels could not accommodate tourists.
The decision was made hours after the German communicable disease control authority announced a record increase in COVID-19 cases of 14,964 new infections in the last day. The total number of coronavirus infections reported in the country since the outbreak rose to 449,275.
Germany, with 83 million population, as well as 27 deaths from coronavirus infections, and the total number of victims increased to 10,098, according to the Robert Koch Institute for Communicable Diseases.
“We can say that our healthcare system today is capable of meeting this challenge,” Merkel said. “However, if the infection continues to spread like this, we will be within the confines of our healthcare system in a few weeks.”
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