Germany must decide on Wednesday, during a crisis meeting, an additional turn of the screw in the hope of stemming the rapid and “uncontrolled” spread of Covid-19 amid calls for a new partial containment .
Discussions between Angela Merkel’s government and regional leaders have moved forward to Wednesday, instead of the original Friday.
According to the media, the Chancellor advocates a “light lockdown” with the closure of restaurants and bars, as well as a ban on public gatherings.
Schools and nurseries would remain open.
These measures would be in addition to the restrictions already in place limiting the number of participants in private meetings, the respect of barrier gestures, the wearing of a protective mask, regular ventilation of the rooms and the recommendations to download the application indicating contact with people infected with Covid-19.
“We must now take decisions quickly and decisively in order to break this second wave of infection,” Vice-Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Tuesday in an interview with the German DPA agency.
As in all of Europe, the fear is to deal another blow to a recovering economy. While the German leaders will be in talks, the professionals of the event industry will demonstrate in Berlin because the “survival” of their companies is at stake.
“Avoid contact”
The national academy of sciences Léopoldine, very listened to in Berlin, recommended a “drastic” reduction of the contacts to fight a development become “uncontrollable” of the virus in certain regions.
The Chancellor has been constantly calling on the Germans to stay at home as much as possible.
“We will probably have 20,000 new infections by the end of this week,” warned Conservative Economy Minister Peter Altmaier.
New Covid-19 infections recently climbed above 10,000, with a record high of 14,714 being reached on Saturday.
Even if the country is doing – like in the spring – always better than other European countries like France or Spain, the map of Germany is gradually turning red.
The situation is very very serious. The measures in place are not enough to stop the trend, ”noted Armin Laschet, head of government of the most populous region in Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Need “courage”
The difficulty will be to find a common line between Berlin and the leaders of the sixteen German regions, which – federalism obliges – are competent in health matters.
A fortnight ago, Angela Merkel and the regional barons had certainly decided to limit the number of participants in private meetings, considered as centers of spread, from a certain threshold of new infections.
But they had failed to agree on a common strategy. Some less affected Länder had, for example, decided de facto stay bans for their compatriots coming from “red zones”.
The Chancellor, a rare thing, had publicly declared herself “dissatisfied”.
Faced with a “possible loss of control” in the face of the virus, we need “homogeneous rules and the courage, as in the spring, to make uncomfortable decisions”, Saar Head of Government Tobias Hans (CDU) said on Tuesday.
Popular Bavarian conservative Markus Söder, advocate of very restrictive measures against the virus, has pleaded for “to act now and correctly rather than late and without conviction.” Better an effective therapy than a simple placebo ”.
But the leader of Thuringia, in the former GDR, Bodo Ramelow (Radical Left) on Tuesday ruled out approving a new “lockdown”.
Several leaders insist on the relevance of strong measures now, which would save the family holiday season.
“The hope is to have the situation in hand by Christmas”, underlines a source close to the government in Berlin, and this while most of the Christmas markets, so dear to the Germans, have been canceled due to the pandemic.