[ad_1]
In a dramatic evening meeting, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister decided on tough measures. Only a threat from Angela Merkel allows a decision to be made.
Agreement at two thirty in the morning: German Chancellor Angela Merkel with Michael Müller, president of the Berlin Prime Minister’s Conference (right), and his deputy, Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder.
Photo Michael Kappeler (Keystone)
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 opened 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 after twelve hours of negotiations that They only broke up in the middle of Tuesday night.
the “Emergency break”, which, according to the previous decision in early March, should prevent the first cautious openings from accelerating the spread of the virus again, should now have an effect across the board: in most federal states and many districts, the limit weekly out of 100 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants have 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 heads of state had in principle agreed to these renewed restrictions, they suddenly quarreled at night over the question of whether locals should be allowed to vacation on the shores of the North and Baltic seas in Semana. Santa 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 shied away from leaving the negotiations because of 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.
Shortly after midnight, Merkel’s surprising new proposal suddenly made the rounds: a complete lockdown over Easter. At half past two in the evening, the Chancellor and representatives of the regional leaders – Berlin Mayor Michael Müller (SPD) and Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) – joint resolutions In front. It was a “difficult delivery,” everyone involved said, visibly tired.
The strict lockdown from Easter Thursday to Easter Monday, which also includes a harvest ban, should allow a “break” to “break the exponential increase in the number of infections to some extent,” Merkel said. Holiday travel in Germany will remain prohibited until further notice; returnees from abroad must be able to present negative proof in any case in order to return
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. In the end, the federal and state governments decided to systematically test in schools and daycare centers only as a goal that they wanted to achieve as soon as possible.
