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The German government and the Länder agree on strict measures to curb the record spread of the coronavirus.
Angela Merkel closes large sectors of society. Photo: Michael Kappeler / dpa via AP / NTB
– We must act, and we must act now. If the infection continues to spread at this rate, it will be at the very limit of what our health service has capacity, Prime Minister Angela Merkel said Wednesday.
German authorities are now announcing a series of new infection control measures that will in practice mean that some parts of the country will be shut down next month.
The new measures will go into effect next Monday and will initially apply for four weeks.
All restaurants must be closed in November, as are cinemas, theaters, gyms, swimming pools, beauty salons, tattoo parlors, and massage parlors. Tourists cannot stay overnight in hotels either.
Restaurants in Germany must remain closed in the future. Here from Frankfurt. Photo: Michael Probst / AP
No close contact
The measures also mean that Germans can only have close contact with their own members, as well as with another household, a maximum of ten people.
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Merkel describes the private meetings as “unacceptable.”
However, most stores can stay open, as can hairdressers and physical therapists. Schools and kindergartens can also remain open, but they must introduce new and stricter hygiene rules.
Bandaged passersby pass the Frankfurt Opera on Wednesday. Photo: Michael Probst / AP
Crisis package
German companies have already been hit hard by the corona pandemic.
According to DPA, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is now working on a crisis package of between NOK 75 and 110 billion, to be paid out over the next month.
If the crisis package receives the support of the 16 Länder and is adopted by the German National Assembly, small businesses will be able to receive 75 percent of what they had in revenue in the same month last year.
Larger companies will be able to request support that corresponds to 70 percent of revenue in the same month last year.
Infection log
In the last 24 hours, 14,964 new cases of infection have been registered in Germany and a new record is set in one day.
More than 470,000 people have so far tested positive for the coronavirus in Germany, where more than 10,300 deaths have been recorded. This corresponds to just over twelve deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, while in Norway there have been five deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn emphasizes that the infection curve must flatten again.
– When hospital intensive care units are full, it is too late, he tells the SWR radio station.
