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Germany will reinforce

social and economic restrictions

to stop the coronavirus pandemic in the face of the poor results achieved with those already imposed.

The decision, foreseeable given the sustained advance of new infections and deaths, was agreed by Chancellor Angela Merkel and the presiding ministers of the 'Länder' in a meeting that started as an obstacle course.

One of the most important was the

establishment of perimeter confinements in regions with a high incidence of Covid-19

, a proposal by the Chancellor that had the resistance of some federal states.

The epidemiological data of the last days, which remain at historical values, the detection in the United Kingdom and South Africa of a highly contagious mutation of the virus and a stumbling vaccination campaign ended up tilting the balance in favor of the chancellor.

Merkel had prepared the conference of presiding ministers well.

Unlike the previous ones, he organized

a telematic meeting

the day before

with some 60 reference scientists

, among them the president of the Robert Koch Institute of Epidemiology, Lothar Wieler;

virologist Christian Drosten and Viola Priesemann, from the Max-Planck Institute.

In that debate prior to the political negotiation,

all the scientists advocated a tightening

of the restrictions.

The perimeter confinement will be automatic in all areas where the incidence of coronavirus exceeds 200 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days.

In these population centers,

the mobility of citizens will be restricted to a radius of 15 kilometers from the home

.

This is the most radical anti-mobility measure adopted in Germany since the pandemic broke out early last year.

There was no choice.

Despite the slight decrease in the contagion curve detected during the Christmas holidays, with a peak of 1,119 deaths on December 30, the RKI counted 11,897 infections and 944 deaths in the last 24 hours.

In total, 1,878,410 cases of Covid-19 and 35,518 fatalities have been confirmed in Germany.

The

average number of infections so far this year is 134.7 per 100,000 inhabitants

, the highest since Christmas, which places the ratio at a value of 0.85.

That means that a hundred infected can infect another 85.

Perimeter confinement has not been the only new measure agreed by the federal government and the Länder.

Also the meetings are restricted and this time to the maximum: only one person from another household

.

Until now, gatherings of five people from two different households were allowed.

The rest of the catalog of agreed measures lasts until January 31 and with it the

closure of all non-essential commercial activity, as well as gastronomy, hotels, sports and beauty

.

School holidays are extended, the priority of telework is maintained and also the recommendation to avoid unnecessary trips.

The decision of the federal and regional administrations will be applicable

until January 31

, although always with the reservation of going further if the situation is not rectified.

There is little room for action in a country that is reluctant to declare a state of emergency and criticism of the cuts in rights grows, although the majority of the population understands the seriousness of the situation and the need to act.

The

41 percent are in favor of extending the restrictions

and 24 percent even agree hardening, according to the consulting firm

YouGov

.

Criticism of the vaccination campaign

In the parliamentary arch, the only dissonant voices in the consensus that Merkel always wanted to force around this crisis are the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the liberals of the FDP.

Criticisms of the way in which vaccination is being carried out in Germany also come from the ranks of these parties, a front that the Social Democratic Party (SPD) has joined, albeit with different arguments.

The Social Democratic parliamentary group has asked in the appearance of the Minister of Health, Jens Spahn in the Bundestag to explain the reasons why the

vaccination campaign is suffering delays and fewer doses have been purchased than necessary

.

"Minister Spahn should convene a summit with all vaccine producers, ensure increased capacity and a logistics operation in accordance with the circumstances," said the vice president of the SPD fraction, Carsten Schneider.

The outgoing president of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, has responded to government partners accusing her of lack of loyalty and of using the vaccine for electoral purposes.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Germany

  • UK

  • Berlin

  • Angela Merkel

  • Coronavirus

  • Covid 19

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