Coronavirus: Germany lockdown easing to be paused amid spike in cases, says Merkel
‘If we stick to the rules, a lot of public life is possible,’ chancellor says
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Angela Merkel has ruled out easing coronavirus restrictions any further after a spike in infections in Germany.
The chancellor warned that the recent rise in cases had been caused by greater mobility and more personal contact.
And she warned there were people returning from high-risk holiday areas and clusters of private celebrations at which people were gathering in groups.
Urging people to stick to the rules, such as wearing masks, to ensure public life can be as open as possible, she said: “For us, the priorities are firstly to keep economic life going as much as possible and to protect jobs – that’s why we have stimulus programmes and secondly to make (running) schools and nurseries possible.”
Germany last week recorded its biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases in more than three months, with more than 1,200 cases reported in 24 hours.
Increases over the past few weeks caused alarm among some virologists and politicians.
Ms Merkel said she did not think now was the time to ease restrictions any further, and said she was very thankful for fines being levied on people not wearing masks.
“The good news is if we stick to the rules, a lot of public life is possible,” she said on a trip to the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
“If the numbers go back down, we can open up more. If they don’t, or rise, we must ask what is needed and in any case a further easing of measures cannot take place now.”
Germany has managed to keep the number of corona cases relatively low compared with many of its European neighbours but the number of confirmed cases reported on Tuesday rose by 1,390 to 225,404, the Robert Koch Institute said.
The country has suffered 9,240 deaths during the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University, ranking it 16th globally.
The chancellor said travellers returning from risk areas had to have a negative test or else go into quarantine.
“This is not optional regulation – it is a must,” she said.
A survey found last month Ms Merkel’s leadership is the most highly regarded in the world.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments