Chancellor Angela Merkel has apparently spoken out against any opening steps in the current corona lockdown until March 1. According to information from the German Press Agency, Merkel said the time when the British virus variant had not yet gained the upper hand was decisive in order to get the infection numbers down with all his might in an online meeting of the Union faction in the German Bundestag .
“We wouldn’t win anything if we left the lockdown early,” said Merkel, according to the participants. Rather, a rapid opening would carry the risk “that the number of infections will rise again very quickly,” Merkel was quoted by participants in the meeting. If the current conditions were continued until March 1, it could possibly be prevented that there would be another lockdown later.
Her opinion is therefore that one should wait until March 1st before opening any steps, said the Chancellor. This is difficult for parents and other affected persons. You can then take opening steps “with a clearer conscience”. This applies to daycare centers and primary schools, in retail and hairdressers, reports the news agency afp. These openings could only be made under certain conditions. Merkel added that she expected the British variant of the virus to be the dominant one in Germany in a few weeks.
Crucial conference on Wednesday
Merkel and the heads of government of the countries will discuss the next steps in the corona policy on Wednesday. In addition to the lockdown extension, the agenda also includes a longer-term opening perspective: It is intended to show what a gradual return to normality could look like if the number of infections continues to fall.
In the meantime, a draft working paper in preparation for the conference has become known. According to reports from several news agencies, an extension of the hard lockdown is becoming apparent despite falling corona infection numbers in many places. “Therefore, the contact restrictions must be kept in principle in the next few weeks,” says the paper that the Federal Chancellery is said to have sent to the federal states.
Schools can best hope for opening steps
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The document should be treated with caution insofar as it is considered an interim draft, many of which can still be changed. It bears the date line February 9, 2021, 10.15 a.m. Some points in the draft have not yet been formulated. This should be about essential details of possible opening perspectives.
Further strict contact restrictions
According to reports, however, the countries are by no means agreed that there should be an extension of the lockdown until March. To reduce the risk of infection, the paper continues to rely on the existing restriction for private gatherings to your own household plus a maximum of one additional person. Furthermore, the use of medical masks, i.e. so-called surgical masks or masks of the KN95 / N95 and FFP2 standards, is recommended for all interior spaces.
The authors of the paper are also putting more pressure on when it comes to working from home: “The Chancellor and the heads of government of the federal states call on employers to continue to keep their business premises closed within the scope of their operational possibilities through generous home office solutions with greatly reduced presence staff or completely and ask the employees to take advantage of the offer. “
According to the paper, however, there could be easing at schools and daycare centers. The North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Armin Laschet assumes that this topic will be the focus of the meeting on Wednesday. More and more children are struggling with the consequences of school closings, he said in the state parliament in Düsseldorf. Learning is a process in groups that no longer takes place. “To pretend that you could raise children digitally is nonsense,” said the CDU chairman. There must be a balance between fighting the virus and the damage it would cause to children and young people. The current regulations of the corona lockdown, including the extensive closure of schools and daycare centers, are limited to Sunday.
Cruise passengers in corona quarantine
Meanwhile, an incident on the cruise ship “Mein Schiff 2” is causing irritation. After four positive corona cases on board, several passengers and crew members are in quarantine on Gran Canaria. The guests had tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of the trip last week, said a spokeswoman for the Tui Cruises shipping company of the German press agency in Hamburg. “The four people were immediately isolated on board and taken to quarantine on land.”
The cruise ship “Mein Schiff 2” – here leaving the port of Hamburg
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In addition, nine guests and eleven employees were identified as contact persons, were also initially isolated on board and then accommodated accordingly on Gran Canaria – despite negative test results. The guests would continue to be looked after by Tui Cruises. The passengers had no or only mild symptoms.
All of the other 1,000 or so guests tested negative for the corona virus and were able to travel home on Friday as planned. The 800 employees of the ship also remained without a positive corona test. “The cruise operation could already continue in consultation with the authorities.” The ship had previously been cleaned and disinfected. Tui Cruises is currently going to the Canary Islands and only takes a maximum of around 60 percent of the usual number of guests on board, so that the distance rules can be adhered to.
kle / qu (dpa, afp, epd, rtr)
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