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In view of the increasing number of infections, German politicians agree in principle to renew the restrictions. But then Chancellor Angela Merkel and some country leaders suddenly squabble over the details.
The headquarters of the videoconference at the Berlin Chancellery: Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) leads the negotiations with the 16 federal states together with Michael Müller (SPD), the mayor of Berlin.
Photo: Jesco Denzel (Federal Government via Getty Images)
All the beautiful Step-by-step plans, remain theory for the moment. Instead of being able to free public life in Germany step by step as the number of infections declines, rising values are now leading to the return of old restrictions. Some stores that are open under certain conditions have to close again, theaters or restaurants will remain closed until at least April 18: Chancellor Angela Merkel and the prime ministers of the 16 federal states agreed to this on Monday afternoon. At least in principle.
the “Emergency break”, which should prevent cautious early openings, such as by appointment stores, from accelerating the spread of the virus again, is now taking effect across the board: In most federal states, the weekly limit of 100 new infections by every 100,000 inhabitants has already been exceeded. Schools and kindergartens, which were gradually opened a few weeks ago, are again facing restrictions as well.
Dispute over the Easter holidays
But shortly after the chancellor and state heads agreed on these renewed restrictions, they suddenly fell out at night over the question of whether locals should be allowed to vacation on the northern shores and the Baltic Sea at Easter. If Germans can fly back to Majorca on holiday, the prime ministers of Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt asked why holidays are not allowed in Germany. At least for locals, in vacation apartments and mobile homes?
When the five countries finally insisted on their demands, Merkel suddenly hit her own emergency brake. If it continues like this, he said, according to the participants, he could not support the decisions of the round as a whole. She believes loosening up like this is sending the wrong signal in the middle of a third wave that is building up. You couldn’t face the public like that.
Because the countries, for their part, simply refused to abandon the negotiations on this dispute, the big round was interrupted for hours. Merkel and representatives of the prime ministers were looking for solutions in smaller formats. By midnight the plenary discussions had not yet resumed. Soon after, individual media reported that a full shutdown was being discussed over Easter days, including closed supermarkets. The result of the strength test seemed completely open.
Many Germans are still behind the cautious course.
Although criticism of the crisis management by the federal and state governments has grown stronger recently, many Germans continue to support Merkel’s cautious course: according to a poll conducted over the weekend, 30 percent would like to the blockade to be tightened, while 23 percent wanted to maintain it. Only 22 percent called for relaxation, 15 percent called for an end to all restrictions.
Last week made the third wave also Germany captured with force. On a weekly average, there are now more than 13,000 new infections every day; values have recently increased by 30 percent week over week. The reproduction value is between 1.2 and 1.3.
The Robert Koch Institute speaks of “clearly exponential growth” and predicts that the numbers at Easter threaten to be as dramatic as they were at Christmas. Merkel spoke of a “very difficult situation.” Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer even warned of a “gigantic third wave.”
The treacherous variant
A few weeks ago, the federal and state governments were still hoping that vaccines and the increased use of rapid tests and self-tests could increasingly monitor the development of the virus and allow new openings. This hope has faded.
According to epidemiologists, this mainly has to do with the much more contagious variant of the B.1.1.7 virus, which has also become dominant in Germany in a short time. The measures that were still effective against the older virus do not prevent the new variant from growing exponentially.
Therefore, from the point of view of the experts, there is no way to avoid rapidly reducing the number of new infections again to avoid overloading the healthcare system. Currently, the number of Covid-19 patients in hospital intensive care units is only half that of the end of the year, but admissions have risen again from a week ago at the latest.
Although the immunization campaign started slowly, 9 percent of Germans now get vaccinated at least once. Vaccination protection is already widespread in homes for the elderly and elderly and among those over 80 years of age. This has a clear impact on the figures: in no age group has the incidence decreased more than in the elderly, who are those most at risk. Consequently, the number of deaths from Covid 19 has also dropped dramatically. According to experts, the most vulnerable are currently 50 to 79 yearswho are still awaiting vaccination.
Children are particularly prone to infection
Currently, the virus is more widespread among children and young adults. Variant B.1.1.7 is very widespread in schools and kindergartens, even among the youngest, and spreads among families. Efforts to prevent this through rapid self-tests have so far not been very effective.
That’s why Merkel demanded that schools and daycare centers with incidences above 100 only remain open in the future if everyone involved is tested at least twice a week. The federal states, which have school sovereignty, rejected this proposal. It is indisputable among experts that faster tests in schools, but also in companies, could lead to greater security.
