Germany extended lockdown due to increase in COVID-19 cases

Germany has extended its lockdown measures for another month and imposed new restrictions, including the suspension of all public activities for Easter., to reduce the rate of coronavirus infections.

Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the measures on Tuesday, after a lengthy video call with the governors of the country’s 16 states and nearly three weeks after the two sides agreed on a plan to ease some of the restrictions.

Germany has entered ‘new pandemic’ due to the spread of COVID-19 variants, Merkel said.

“We have a new virus (…) it has been much more deadly, much more contagious and contagious for much longer,” the Chancellor said at a press conference in Berlin.

Since, infections increase steadily as a new variant discovered in Britain has become more dominant. The previous restrictions were supposed to end on March 28, but will now remain in effect until April 18.

“We are seeing the intensity of the exponential growth and I think the extra days of Easter will be a contribution to the efforts to control the pandemic,” the Chancellor said.

Areas where the number of new infections exceeds 100 per 100,000 population for three consecutive days will be subject to more stringent measures, as agreed at the previous meeting.

“Unfortunately, we’re going to have to use that emergency brake.Merkel told reporters in Berlin.

The weekly rate of infections per 100,000 population was 107 cases nationwide on Monday, up from around 65 three weeks ago.

Authorities have agreed to restrict virtually all public activities from April 1-3, including closing most stores during this time.. Private gatherings will be banned from April 1-5 to encourage people to stay home.

“It was absolutely essential to use the emergency brake,” said Merkel of the decision to step back in the de-escalation strategy due to the increased incidence over the past month.

Amid concerns about the increasing number of Germans vacationing abroad, Authorities have also agreed to a general requirement for travelers to undergo diagnostic tests for COVID-19 before boarding a plane bound for Germany.

Merkel and regional leaders also agreed to extend the obligation to undergo a PCR test to all travelers arriving in the country, regardless of place of origin, while until now this measure has been limited to “Risk areas”.

The move is his response to the controversy surrounding the Easter holidays in Mallorca, demand for which exploded after German authorities removed the Balearic Islands from the list of risk areas., which eliminated the requirement for testing and quarantine.

Thus, added the Chancellor, a “general obligation” to pass a test to enter the country, said the Chancellor, who recalled that the German government advises “in general against all travel which is strictly necessary”.

On March 12, German authorities removed the Balearic Islands from the list of risk areas (along with five other Spanish Autonomous Communities), triggering the request for flights. and stay on the island for the Easter holidays.

The situation has provoked a heated controversy in Spain, where the majority of citizens will not be able to leave their autonomous community at Easter due to the restrictions of the pandemic; but also in Germany, where domestic tourism is currently banned, which poses serious economic difficulties for the sector.

The Chancellor said the situation is “very serious” and noted the importance of not “overloading the health system”.

“We have a new pandemic with the spread of the British variant,” said the Chancellor and indicated that this mutation is already the most dominant in the country. This virus is “more deadly, more infectious” and causes a longer convalescence, he warned.

With information from AFP, AP and EFE

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