BERLIN (AP) – Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that Germany is extending pandemic restrictions, including the closure of schools and shops, until mid-February, amid concerns that new coronavirus mutations could trigger a further increase in cases.
Germany’s infection rate has stabilized in recent days, indicating that existing restrictions could have been effective in reducing the numbers. On Tuesday, the country’s disease control center reported 11,369 recently confirmed infections and 989 deaths, for a total of 47,622 deaths.
“All our efforts to contain the spread of the virus are facing a serious threat,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin, noting that experts have linked growing infections in Britain and Ireland to the emergence of a more contagious virus variant there.
“Now is the time to protect yourself from the danger posed by this mutated virus,” he said.
Although individual examples of new variants have been found in Germany, scientists have said it is not yet dominant, he added.
“There’s still time, so to speak, to contain the risk,” Merkel said.
In addition to extending the closure of restaurants, most shops and schools until February 14, Merkel and the governors of the 16 German states agreed to require people to wear the most effective FFP2 or KN95 masks on public transportation and shops. Employers will also be asked to let staff work from home, whenever possible, to prevent office infections.
Merkel said the goal remains to have fewer than 50 new cases of coronavirus a week per 100,000 population. The national average in Germany is currently 131.
The governor of the state of Saxony, which until recently had the highest infection rates in the country, said it was important to further reduce the number of new cases.
“We are currently seeing in Britain what happens when a mutation occurs, when the numbers explode,” he told the n-tv news channel. “We can’t stay at that level.”
Medical workers have been demanding an extension or tightening of the shutdown as many hospitals are still on the verge, with intensive care rooms and even crematoria reaching their limits. in some areas.
“Current measures to limit social contacts appear to have an effect,” Susanne Johna, head of the Marburger Bund doctors ’association, told dpa news agency, adding that measures should be maintained to further reduce new infections.
“We urgently need more relief,” Johna said.
Merkel acknowledged a growing concern in Germany about the impact the restrictions have on students, who face four more weeks of home schooling.
“It’s a big strain for schools, the eight weeks,” he said. “But if we had conditions like in London then … we would no longer talk about schools, we would talk about ambulances and overflowing hospitals. And we must avoid it at all costs. “
___
Follow all AP pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic,https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak