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BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel in planning a “closing light” that will focus on closing bars, restaurants and public events to curb a second wave of COVID-19 infections in Germany, the Bild newspaper reported on Monday ( October 26th).
The stores will remain open, with some restrictions, according to the plan and the schools will continue to operate, as well as in areas with a particularly high number of cases, the mass-selling newspaper reported.
A government spokesperson did not confirm or deny the report and said no final decisions had been made.
Infections have nearly doubled in the past week in Germany and cases are also increasing in Europe and much of the Northern Hemisphere.
But Merkel is eager to avoid a second full national lockdown that could threaten a fragile recovery in Europe’s largest economy.
Earlier on Monday, Merkel’s spokesman said the chancellor and the leaders of Germany’s 16 states would meet to decide on additional restrictions on Wednesday.
READ: The death toll from COVID-19 in Germany exceeds 10,000
A government official said, on condition of anonymity, that the measures described by Bild as a “shutdown light” might not be enough and that state prime ministers and the foreign ministry would have to agree to even stricter restrictions.
Germany reported 8,685 new cases on Monday. Government sources quoted Merkel as saying that the situation was “very, very serious” and without additional containment measures, the number of new daily cases could reach 30,000 next week.
“(The conference) will be to discuss what can be done to contain the spread of the virus soon,” Merkel spokesperson Steffen Seibert told a news conference. “I hope decisions are made.”
The Rottal-Inn district in Bavaria announced a two-week shutdown starting Tuesday that will force its 120,000 residents to stay home unless excursions are absolutely necessary.
Officials said the decision was made after a rise in coronavirus cases in the district to more than 200 per 100,000 residents for seven days.
A second district, Berchtesgaden, 110 km south in the Bavarian Alps, has been closed since October 20.
The COVID-19 situation in Germany remains less severe than in other major European countries, including Great Britain, France and Spain. France, which has imposed nighttime curfews in major cities, reported a record 52,010 new confirmed infections on Sunday.
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