Most shops are closed, social restrictions are tightened, no singing in church, and the sale of fireworks is banned: Germany controls its epidemics in an effort to reduce the stubbornly high rate of corona virus infections.
On Sunday, President Angela Merkel said she and the governors of 16 German states had agreed to accelerate the country’s lockout process, which began Wednesday and lasted until January 10, to curb the country’s rapid rise. Covit-19 patients.
“We are forced to act, we act,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin, adding that the restrictions imposed in November had failed to significantly reduce the number of new epidemics.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Germany has risen from 21.23 new cases per 100,000 people on November 28 to 26 new cases per 100,000 people on December 12 in the last two weeks.
BERND VON JUTRCZENKA / REUTERS
Starting Wednesday, schools across the country will close or switch to home school; Just as businesses like the hairdresser are allowed to stay open, most non-food stores will be closed. Restaurant pick-up will still be allowed, but no food or drink will take place on site.
Except for Christmas, the number of people allowed to visit the home will be under the age of five, including children under the age of 14.
The sale of firecrackers traditionally used to celebrate the New Year will also be banned, as well as public outdoor gatherings on New Year’s Day.
Marcus Soder, governor of Battersea, said the ban on firecrackers could not cure serious injuries caused by improperly detonated explosives each year, following appeals from hospitals.
“We must be careful that Germany does not become the problematic child of Europe,” he said.
Hannibal Hanske / REUTERS
Germany has set new records in the number of confirmed cases and deaths in recent weeks. In all, it accounts for about 22,000 virus deaths, a third of which are in Italy and Britain.
Finance Minister Olaf Scholes said the government would provide more financial assistance to businesses affected by the lockdown. The German news agency DPA reported an additional .2 11.2 billion ($ 13.6 billion).
For the next month, employers will be asked to allow as many employees as possible to work from home.
Religious services are allowed, minimum distance rules are in place and masks are worn, although singing is prohibited.
Staff in nursing homes are required to take COVID-19 tests several times a week, and those who come home must give a negative test result before seeing relatives.
The German hospital federation welcomed the new measures, but called it “difficult to understand” why the European pharmaceutical company had not yet approved the first corona virus vaccine. The Pfizer-Bioendech vaccine has already been approved by the UK, Canada and the United States, and the UK launched the vaccine last week.
Hospitals in the severely affected eastern region around Dresden have appealed to people to follow social distance and wear masks responsibly, saying medical facilities will reach full capacity.
“Nurses and doctors are already within their physical and psychological limits,” hospitals said in newspaper ads.
The three districts in Saxony, where Dresden is located, have reported an epidemic rate of 10 times higher than the government’s target. The government has been at the center of protests against corona virus controls.