Chancellor Angela Merkel has appealed to the population shortly before Easter not to become careless in the coming days in view of the corona crisis despite the nice weather. “We mustn’t be reckless now, we can’t be safe,” she said. “And I know that personally, too: You have a little hope, then you gain confidence, then you are a little more relaxed internally, and you’re a little careless.”
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However, “care by distance” is still required. You would have to live with the pandemic for a long time. “They protect our healthcare system by keeping their distance and minimizing contacts,” said Merkel.
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The Chancellor does look the latest infection numbers in the corona crisis Cautious hope. “The increase leveled off slightly,” said Merkel in the Chancellery. No further tightening is currently necessary. Nevertheless: It was necessary to continue the restrictions over Easter. What has been achieved in combating the pandemic is very easy to destroy.
When it came to gradually easing restrictions, for example by starting school, Merkel said it would take patience. “We have to be very, very careful.” She thinks it is difficult to relax measures and then possibly to have to impose them again – possibly tougher ones. “I would like to be really happy and the first to tell you it’s all the way it was and we could start again,” she said, “but it’s not like that.”
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The goal is still not to overwhelm the health system at any point. Merkel made it clear that upcoming decisions about a possible new phase “on a solid basis” of numbers, among other things, should be made regarding the infection process. She also referred to a study from the Leopoldina National Science Academy expected after Easter. In the week after Easter, the Chancellor wants to meet with the heads of government of the federal states to discuss how to proceed in the corona crisis.
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In order to ensure a better supply of protective materials such as breathing masks, Merkel said two departments were founded in federal ministries: there was now a procurement staff in the Ministry of Health and one staff in the Ministry of Economics to boost the domestic production of protective goods such as masks. “There is an interest in the economy to build up its own capacities here,” said Merkel. The EU and Germany should achieve greater strategic independence in this area.
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