Germany poised to introduce tougher coronavirus restrictions

Coronavirus case numbers are no longer growing exponentially in Germany, but Chancellor Angela Merkel feels that the limited lockdown, which has now been in place for two weeks, is not having enough of an effect. She therefore wants to push for tighter restrictions in this afternoon’s meeting with state leaders.

Merkel calls for tougher coronavirus restrictions in Germany

Justifying her demand for tighter restrictions, Merkel pointed to the daily number of new coronavirus cases in Germany, which has remained high even after new restrictions were brought in at the beginning of November. “The figures are stabilising somewhat. But too slowly,” the chancellor was quoted as saying. 

The government therefore feels that it is now necessary to impose further contact restrictions. According to a draft proposal, which has been seen by various news outlets, people would be urged to abstain from private parties completely until Christmas. Private gatherings would be limited to a maximum of two households, while children and young people would be asked to pick just one friend to meet up with outside of school hours. 

To ensure that schools can remain open, Merkel’s office has also proposed that masks be made mandatory, and classes “without exception broken up into fixed groups, where the size of groups in classrooms are halved compared to normal operations.” Alternatively, classes could be moved into larger rooms to allow more space between students. 

Anyone experiencing cold symptoms, particularly either a cough or a runny nose, would be urged to self-isolate for at least five days, until their symptoms have disappeared. 

German state leaders to debate proposals on Monday

The proposal was to be put to the leaders of Germany’s 16 federal states later on Monday, meaning that the exact outlines of the new measures could still change. It appears that the majority of state leaders do not want to change the regulations just jet. 

Health authorities in Germany reported 10,824 new coronavirus cases within the 24 hours to Monday morning. The number of cases is usually lower on Mondays, as fewer tests are carried out over the weekend. Last Monday, the number of new infections reported was 13.363. The number of deaths related to the virus rose 62 to a total of 12.547.