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Berlin (dpa) - Before the planned deliberations of the federal and state governments this Sunday, there are more and more demands for a quick lockdown.

Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) warned of a loss of control in the corona pandemic and urged rapid action before Christmas.

“The infection rate has accelerated dramatically in the last three days.

We are again in a phase of exponential growth and see that the first intensive care units are reaching their capacity limits, ”he told the editorial network Germany (RND / Saturday).

There is no way you can wait until after Christmas to react.

«We now have to clarify what happens next.

Otherwise the pandemic course will get completely out of control, "said Altmaier.

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The country leaders want to discuss stricter corona rules with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) this Sunday (from 10:00 a.m.).

Some countries have already imposed extensive restrictions.

In Saxony, for example, a lockdown is to begin on Monday.

In Baden-Württemberg there will be an exit restriction from Saturday.

It is considered relatively certain that the prime ministers will decide on a lockdown.

However, it is still unclear when this should start and what exactly it includes.

According to the “Bild” newspaper, the Chancellery is calling for shops, schools and daycare centers to be closed from next Wednesday.

Saxony's head of rebuilding, Michael Kretschmer, also advocated a joint decision against opening the German ski areas.

"Anything else would be inconsistent in view of the numbers," he told the "Spiegel",

Union faction leader Ralph Brinkhaus also reiterated his demand for strict contact rules for the holidays.

“I was always skeptical about relaxed contact restrictions on Christmas and New Year's Eve.

The relaxation to ten people without children under 14 years of age should be discarded and the meetings limited to two households - including on public holidays.

We need a combination of strict rules and personal responsibility. "

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At the currently targeted end of a possible hard lockdown, Brinkhaus said: “On the weekend after Epiphany, the holiday season is over everywhere and all companies will then start to work again at the latest.

But I don't think that from January 10th everything will be the same as it was in September. "

At the same time, Brinkhaus appealed to the churches to consider alternatives to church services.

«I appeal to the understanding of the Christian churches to cut back church events as much as possible and to look for alternatives in order not to expose the faithful to any risk.

If necessary, there must also be readjusted via the ordinance, ”said the CDU politician of the“ Rheinische Post ”(Saturday).

The Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) expressed understanding for a possible ban on singing on Christmas holidays in churches.

"Song singing is already suspended in many dioceses and would also be understandable as a general ban," said ZdK chairman Thomas Sternberg to the editorial network Germany (RND / Saturday).

However, he considers a ban on religious services to be unnecessary.

"Services are planned and possible with a distance requirement, mandatory registration, disinfection and consideration."

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The FDP chairman Christian Lindner insists on maintaining proportionality in the planned new measures.

"There will now be a Corona emergency brake because a sustainable strategy is still missing," he told the German Press Agency in Berlin.

"However, there must not be disproportionately sharp interference with fundamental rights."

In particular, Lindner rejected exit restrictions.

“Flat-rate and area-wide curfews like in Bavaria are unnecessary and overshoot the mark.

There is no risk of infection from taking a walk in the household or from exercising in the open air. "

Lindner emphasized: "The federal and state governments have to be moderate in the dangerous situation."

The acceptance in the population also depends on this.

The CSU regional group leader in the Bundestag, Alexander Dobrindt, called for a quick end of classroom teaching.

"Where it has not yet happened, we must now switch quickly to digital and distance teaching," he told the "Augsburger Allgemeine" (Saturday).

In addition, the holidays would have to start earlier, and a hard lockdown with strict restrictions on contacts would be needed quickly.

"We have to act immediately in the schools, and the hard lockdown should begin before Christmas," said Dobrindt.

City Council President Burkhard Jung (SPD) also spoke out in favor of a nationwide, uniform and hard lockdown before Christmas.

“A complete lockdown must apply nationwide,” said the Leipzig mayor of the “Rheinische Post” (Saturday).

"It must not happen that the retail trade is closed in country A and open in country B," said Jung.

“And the rules have to be clear, understandable and as uniform as possible.

Because people have to be able to understand them well. "

The intensive care doctor Christian Karagiannidis called for a hard lockdown as early as Monday: A complete lockdown from December 14 could soon lead to a trend reversal in intensive care capacities, the scientific director of the intensive care register of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI) told the newspapers the Funke media group (Saturday).

New model calculations by DIVI showed "that a strict lockdown on Monday would mean that intensive occupancy would rise until shortly before Christmas and then fall considerably shortly before Christmas Eve," said Karagiannidis.

"Lower it now and loosen it up again in January."

In view of the increasing number of corona infections, patient protectors are also pressing for better safety guarantees for those in need of care.

For the care of the elderly, a lockdown is “no substitute for nationally binding protective measures”, said the board of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, Eugen Brysch, of the German press agency.

All homes and facilities for outpatient care need, among other things, safe basic protection against infection, corona tests twice a week and daily rapid tests.

It is important not just to get through Christmas, but also through a crisis that will last for months.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201212-99-664214 / 3

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