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German Chancellor Angela Merkel assessed the latest outbreak situation in her meeting with state prime ministers via videoconference.
In the statement made after the meeting, which lasted 11 hours, it was stated that the decision was made to extend the existing measures until April 18, and it was indicated that additional measures will be taken in places where the number of new cases increases. .
Consequently, in the last 7 days, in areas where the number of new cases in 100,000 people exceeded 100, the obligation to use medical masks for other passengers who are not from the same household with the driver in private vehicles, rapid tests in places. where mask and distance rules are difficult to enforce, curfew restrictions and people It was stated that additional measures could be taken, such as restricting contacts between them.
In the statement, which emphasized that if the number of new cases in 100,000 people in the last 7 days exceeded 100 for 3 consecutive days, the application of “emergency braking” must be applied decisively, and in this case, measures before 7 March re-implementation was requested.
SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS FOR EASTER
The statement noted that it was decided to impose restrictions in order to reduce contacts in the area of Holy Week, which will be held in early April, and indicated that April 1 and 3 will be defined as a one-time “holiday.” . On the occasion of Easter, Friday April 2 and Monday April 5 were previously set as holidays.
In the statement, which noted that the principle of staying at home from April 1 to 5 will be valid, it was indicated that a maximum of two households will be allowed to meet in this period, but the number of people gathered will be limited to 5, the children under the age of 14 will not be included in this limitation.
It was indicated that meetings in public spaces will be prohibited and food markets will only open until April 3, and religious communities will be asked to organize their activities online.
In the statement, which indicated that testing will play an important role in fighting the epidemic since April, it was stated that the government’s change in the Infection Law will impose an obligation to test passengers when entering Germany from abroad. .
The statement also asked employers to give their employees the opportunity to work from home, while also asking the public not to travel as much as possible.
“WE HAVE NOT YET RENEWED THE VIRUS”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, defending the measures taken at the press conference held after the meeting, said: “We have not yet been able to overcome the virus, it will not leave us.”
Emphasizing that the epidemic situation in Germany is very serious, Merkel claimed that the mutated dangerous type of Covid-19, which was first seen in England, spread in Germany, the number of new cases increased rapidly and the beds in intensive care began to fill up again.
Explaining that they wanted to prevent the health system from reaching the limit of its capacity, Merkel noted that the illness of many middle-aged and young people who contracted Covid-19 during this period began to worsen.
Stating that he is against a blanket export ban on Covid-19 vaccines, Prime Minister Merkel stated that there are several international dependencies on vaccine production and that supply chains need to be scrutinized in this regard.
Noting that most vaccines are currently exported from the European Union, Merkel said she supports the President of the European Union (EU) Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who wants vaccine producers to meet their obligations. .
