Angela Merkel has announced that Germany will not reopen …

“We are not yet ready to reopen nurseries and schools” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said this Saturday on her weekly video podcast broadcast. The European country will maintain the restrictions imposed until February 14 and postpone the return to class to avoid contagion of the new strain of Covid-19.

“Caring for and teaching children at home, helping older children with digital learning platforms is a huge effort” Merkel added in a statement. The Chancellor underlined the work which required the transfer of classes from school to homes. “Apartments become a playground, a classroom and a workplace in one space. It takes good nerves, ”he said.
“Children and young people who have to do without ‘a lot of things that are so important and so enjoyable at this point in their lives”.

In her statement, Merkel called on the Germans to be consistent with the measures to avoid unnecessary contact. “Let’s keep our distance, follow the rules of hygiene and use masks”
the chancellor recommended. In Germany, authorities have confirmed more than 12,000 new coronavirus infections and 794 deaths in the past 24 hours, although last week the number of cases was down. The Chancellor spoke of the dangerousness of the new strain of the virus. “We must therefore be careful and cautious as we move forward in the coming weeks,” he warned.

The German Chancellor also announced that next week she will dedicate the “Conversation with the Chancellor” to mothers and fathers of school-aged children to share with them their experiences during the pandemic. The round of talks is something Merkel has been pursuing for several years. With the pandemic, has decided to increase the number of meetings during which citizens dialogue with the Chancellor via Zoom. “In government, we are very aware of the difficulty in the daily life of many parents and children at the moment. None of us underestimate it,” he added.

The Instituto Robert Koch, the government body responsible for fighting infectious diseases, has reported that to date, more than 56,000 people have died from Covid-19. In addition, it represented some 237,000 active cases nationwide. The vaccination process has been successful in Germany, with more than 2,200,000 people receiving the first dose of the vaccine. Meanwhile, measures to reduce the movement of people remain in effect: schools, restaurants, sports and entertainment establishments remain closed to the public.

Schools in Germany have been closed since March of last year. Some states like Hamburg have decided to open schools for the start of the school year last September. The insistence of the authorities in Hamburg had one of its consequences: an epidemic of 40 people infected only in a school in this state. In addition, teachers had to fend for themselves, according to German television Deutsche Welle. Schools provided common chin straps although the majority of teachers did not receive the FFP-2 masks which provide better protection, teachers who shared a classroom with an infected student had to self-isolate for a week and it ended up being a limitation on time and resources.