In view of the worsening infection situation in Germany, and the threat of a new strain of coronavirus, Chancellor Angela Merkel and incoming Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet with the heads of Germany’s federal states on Tuesday to discuss possible further restrictions. 

German state leaders to meet on Tuesday

The next COVID summit between the federal and state leaders was not due to take place until next week, but on Monday Welt reported that Merkel and Scholz had called a crisis meeting for Tuesday afternoon. 

According to AFP, this meeting will not replace the summit scheduled for December 9. Instead, ministers are expected to discuss a planned verdict from the Federal Constitutional Court, which is deliberating the so-called “emergency brake” this week - a piece of emergency legislation that allowed the government to impose measures like curfews, contract restrictions, and the closure of schools and universities.

The court is expected to give its verdict as to the extent to which the government can continue to make use of measures like these. 

Pressure rising for government to tighten restrictions

Germany’s incoming government previously said that it wanted to wait for the court’s decision before moving ahead with a possible tightening of coronavirus restrictions. Pressure on leaders to take more drastic measures is mounting in view of the still-rising infection rate, and the emergence of the new Omikron COVID variant. 

The state premier for North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst, called for the next summit to be brought forward. “The situation requires swift, determined and above all cohesive action,” he told the Rheinische Post, adding that a joint vote was needed “in the next few days, preferably tomorrow.” 

He said that Germany needed a “nationwide, coordinated approach” to key issues, which could, to his mind, include contact restrictions, mandatory vaccinations, and a new crisis team at the federal level to help accelerate Germany’s lagging vaccination campaign.