BERLIN (GERMANY) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel is all set to agree with regional leaders for extension of a lockdown for most shops and schools until mid-February. This has come as part of steps to control the coronavirus, sources said before talks on Tuesday.
Though new infections have been decreasing of late and pressure on intensive care units has also been taken off slightly, but virologists are concerned about the spread of more infectious variants of the virus which is likely.
One person involved in the talks, confirming a report in Bild daily said, “It is likely that we will agree on a two-week extension.” The existing lockdown will be active until January 31.
The federal government has put forth a proposal that people are obliged to wear medical masks on public transport and in shops. It also added that aid for companies should be improved due to the extension, as shown by draft of the resolution to be discussed.
The draft said the federal government would also make a working group to chart out a blueprint for a safe and fair opening strategy.
Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller told German television, “The infection numbers have been going down for several weeks or stagnating and that’s good. Now we are facing a very aggressive mutation that we have to respond to.”
He said one focus would be laying stress on homeworking.
Mueller, adding states aimed to get employees to explain why they had to come to work, said, “There is much more room for manoeuvre.”
Leaders would also discuss about curfews, already in place in some states, but it doesn’t seem that they would be imposed everywhere, he said.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases had risen by 11,369 to 2.05 million, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Tuesday. The death toll was up 989 at 47,622.