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BERLIN: Germany takes its first steps towards normalcy on Monday (April 20), with smaller stores in some regions opening for the first time in a month after politicians declared the coronavirus “under control.”
From florists to fashion stores, most stores less than 800 square meters will be able to welcome customers again, in a first wave of relaxation and strict restrictions on public life introduced last month.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and regional state prime ministers announced the decision to reopen last week, although they have been careful to view it as a cautious first step.
While the first stores will open on Monday, each of Germany’s 16 states is ready to lift restrictions at a slightly different rate.
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In some states, such as the capital Berlin, the reopening will take a little longer.
Merkel, who has been praised for her handling of the coronavirus crisis, hopes to revitalize the German economy in crisis, which officially went into recession last week.
Some stores in Cologne will be open from Monday as Germany seeks to restart its economy and return to normal. (Photo: AFP / Ina Fassbender)
GERMANY’S SUCCESS FOLLOWS “FRAGILE”
With 139,897 confirmed cases and 4,294 deaths as of Sunday, Germany has been one of the countries most affected by COVID-19, but also one of the fastest to react.
On Friday, the Robert Koch Institute for Public Health announced that the infection rate (the number of people each person contaminated) had dropped below one for the first time, prompting Health Minister Jens Spahn to declare the virus “under control”.
However, Merkel, who was quarantined for two weeks earlier this month before testing negative for the virus, warned that Germany’s success remains “fragile.”
“We will not be able to return to our normal lives for long,” said his conservative party colleague Armin Laschet, the state prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, the country’s most populous region.
In a weekly interview with Der Spiegel, Laschet warned that some coronavirus restrictions could last until 2021.
The ban on meetings of more than two people and the requirement to stay more than 1.5m away from others in public areas remains in force.
That means hairdressers, initially considered a core business, can’t open until at least May 4.
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Cultural venues, bars, entertainment venues and beauty salons will also be closed for now, while large-scale public events such as concerts and soccer games have been banned until August 31.
But the Germans can expect at least some relaxations to the existing closure measures, although they have not been well received by all.
With the largest stores unable to open, the German Trade Association warned on Friday of a possible “distortion of competition”.
Economy Minister Peter Altmaier defended the 800 square meter limit and said that “the belt can only be loosened little by little.”
There will be no Bundesliga football until August 31, even for supporters of the Borussia Moenchegladbach cardboard cutout. (Photo: AFP / Ina Fassbender)
OPEN SCHOOLS
Schools will also partially reopen in the coming weeks, and most states will welcome older students beginning May 4.
Education policy is traditionally decided at the state level in Germany, and Bavaria, the region most affected by the virus so far, will keep its schools closed for another week.
On April 29, the regional education ministers plan to present concrete plans on how social distancing can still be imposed in the classroom.
Germany hopes to combine lifting the restrictions with more efficient tracking of the spread of COVID-19.
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The country hopes to increase testing (it has already tested about 2 million people) and its goal is to produce around 50 million protective masks, including 10 million of the most efficient FFP2 standard per week since August.
Although not mandatory yet, Merkel said her government “advises” to wear a mask in public.
With the expectation of increased population movement as stores reopen, the eastern states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony have made masks mandatory on public transport.
In doing so, they have followed the example of the eastern city of Jena, which unilaterally imposed the use of masks earlier this month.
According to German media, the city has had no new cases in a week.
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