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Angela Merkel said the Germans had the opportunity to prove to Covid-19 that they “chose the wrong host” while defending her government’s second “soft” blockade, amid shouts and boos in parliament.
Quoting a interview With German science writer Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim, who said it reflected her own attitude towards the pandemic, the chancellor said: “If the virus could think, I would think… ‘I have the perfect host here. These people live all over the planet. They are globally connected and they are social creatures, they cannot live without social contacts. They have a hedonistic bent, they like to party, it couldn’t be better. ‘
Humanity’s response, Merkel said, should be: “No, virus, haven’t you learned anything from evolution? Humans have shown time and again that we are very good at adapting to difficult circumstances. We will show you that you have chosen the wrong host. “
“This winter is going to be tough, four long months,” he said at the end of his speech. “But it will come to an end.”
Merkel faces strong criticism from opposition politicians and industry branches over the new restrictions, which will take effect on Monday. Bars, restaurants, theaters, pools, and gyms will be closed until the end of November, and public gatherings will be limited to two households or up to 10 people.
Unnecessary travel is discouraged and hotels are advised not to receive tourists. Schools, nurseries and shops, however, will remain open.
Merkel said on Thursday morning that Germany was in a dramatic situation as it entered winter. The number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care has doubled in the past 10 days, and hospitals would be overwhelmed within weeks unless more steps are taken to slow the spread of the virus, he said.
Contact tracing operations in many parts of the country had been disrupted and authorities were unable to locate the source of 75% of the infections, he added.
The new German restrictions are considerably less draconian than those announced by French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, but Merkel’s “wave-breaking” blockade has been met with cries of despair, particularly from the hotel sector.
Restaurant, bar and hotel owners, many of whom have invested in new technology to meet hygiene requirements, will be hit hard by the new closures, despite promises from the Ministry of Finance of new subsidies. Germany’s disease control agency has yet to show data showing that establishments where guests adhere to mask-wearing rules have fueled the recent surge in infections, they complain.
The far-right alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) led the charge against Merkel’s second blockade of the Bundestag. “We consider Merkel’s shutdown of the culture and gastronomy sector, practically the entire leisure life of our citizens, as excessive and inappropriate,” said AfD co-leader Alexander Gauland.
The Green Party said it approved the new measures, but accused the government of underestimating the threat of a second wave in the summer.
Neither Gauland nor the leader of the FDP, Christian Lindner, offered concrete proposals for an alternative plan, knowing that measures as drastic as the closing of schools would probably prove even more controversial. The closure measures introduced in March met with broad public support, but the closure of schools and daycare centers was widely criticized.
Germany’s health and education ministers released a study two weeks ago that they said had shown daycare centers were not the drivers of the pandemic. A study by the Bonn Institute for Labor Economics (IZA) argues that the reopening of schools had also not led to an expected increase in infection rates. Merkel justified her decision to keep kindergartens and schools open in November “with a view to the paramount importance of education.”
Germany’s disease control agency announced a record 16,774 new infections in the past 24 hours on Thursday, though for now the country’s infection rate remains considerably lower than neighboring countries like France and Belgium.
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