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Germany is likely to reimpose several coronavirus restrictions as it struggles with “exponential growth” in the number of infections.
According to an agreement made with state governors two weeks ago, Chancellor Angela Merkel is supposed to reimpose restrictions in regions where the number of new weekly cases exceeds 100 per 100,000 inhabitants.
On Friday, the national average stood at 95.6.
Ms Merkel said: “The situation is becoming very difficult.
“We have exponential growth … so it is good that we have agreed on an emergency brake and unfortunately we will have to make use of this emergency brake.”
Germany had eased the restrictions, with the first performance at the Berliner Ensemble theater this week.
Infection rates have been on the rise in Germany, especially among the very young, driven by a recent easing of restrictions and the increasing incidence of the more easily transmissible variant that was first found in the UK.
Merkel met with 16 state leaders on Friday and the group will meet again on Monday to discuss extending a lockdown that has been in place since mid-December, as well as reversing plans to reopen the economy.
A slow vaccination campaign, delivery delays and a three-day break in use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine have meant that only 8.5% of the population received their first dose of vaccine, far behind countries such as the UK and the US.
Speaking on Friday, Ms Merkel told reporters: “The motto is ‘vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate.’
State leaders have said they are ready to make up for lost time as European authorities investigated claims that the blood clots were linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine. The vaccine was declared “safe and effective” by the bloc’s drug regulator earlier this week.
Germany will send vaccines directly to GPs, and vaccines are expected to start in surgeries from mid-April at the latest.
Additional doses will be shipped to the French and Czech border regions.
Two large vaccination centers in Berlin have reopened and people who had their appointments canceled this week due to the suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine can return without making a new appointment.
The minister-president of the southwestern German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, 72, received a vaccine against AstraZeneca on Friday, in a move aimed at boosting confidence.
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Ms Merkel said Germany has “a good chance” to offer a vaccine to all residents by the end of the summer, and also added her vote of confidence in the AstraZeneca coup.
But Health Minister Jens Spahn has warned that vaccines alone will not be enough to contain the third wave of the pandemic, as there is not enough supply.
“The increasing number of cases may mean that we cannot take further opening measures in the coming weeks. On the contrary, we may even have to take steps backwards,” he said.
Germany expects to receive 15 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the second quarter of this year, a few million fewer than expected, he added.
Merkel said Germany would consider ordering doses of the Russian vaccine, Sputnik, a measure backed by Spahn, but the chancellor said she would prefer this move to be carried out by Europe.
It comes as pressure builds on other nearby countries to tackle the rising third wave.
In France, the government announced new restrictions this week.
In Poland, more people use respirators than at any time since the start of the pandemic, and children represent a higher percentage of those who are hospitalized.
Officials blame the variant discovered in the UK, warning that the worst is yet to come as a new lockdown begins on Saturday.
Hungary has extended its lockdown for another week and in Bosnia, which has yet to start mass vaccination, began a lockdown in the capital on Friday.
