Covid-19: Germany suspends its deconfinement and goes under a bell for Easter
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with Bavarian Länder Leader Markus Soeder and Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller, at a meeting regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, in Berlin on March 23, 2021. via REUTERS - Michael Kappeler
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Faced with an “
exponential
”
rise
in contaminations, Germany will lock itself down throughout the Easter weekend, Angela Merkel and the sixteen regions announced Tuesday, March 23.
The German Chancellor now considers that with the spread of the English variant on her soil, the country is facing "
a new pandemic
", "
more lethal
" and "
much more contagious
".
Germany thus renounces the gradual lifting of restrictions.
Publicity
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With our correspondent in Berlin,
Pascal Thibaut
The
more infections
and a viral incidence rate above 100 made an
extension of the restrictive measures inevitable
in an attempt to avoid a deterioration of the situation.
This is particularly because of the British variant, more infectious, of the virus.
Until April 18
These measures remain in place until April 18.
Where the incidence rate exceeds 100 for every 100,000 inhabitants,
recent relaxations
will be called into question, such as the possibility of going to a store after making an appointment online.
But tonight's marathon meeting between federal and regional authorities proved that a compromise was increasingly difficult.
Very harsh measures such as a generalized curfew proposed by the Chancellery were very quickly rejected.
The tourist regions that wanted to welcome visitors at Easter did not win their case.
We are again talking about recommendations and fewer obligations, for example for tests in companies.
Laborious compromise
A harder semi-confinement was decided around Easter from April 1 to 5, a period during which family meetings and other trips are numerous.
The German press this morning vitriolic criticism of a laborious compromise and the inability of officials to agree on clear and precise measures.
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See also:
In the News: new restrictions in Germany in the face of the 3rd wave of Covid-19
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