Reactions to Germany's Easter shutdown: A "the-government-messed-up-lockdown"

Chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of the federal states have agreed to a tough shutdown over Easter in Germany. Unsurprisingly, Monday night’s decision has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties and representatives from the retail industry, although the travel industry has expressed relief. 

Federal and state governments in “tunnel mode”?

The decision to extend lockdown measures until April 18 is “essentially a “because-the-federal-government-messed-up-lockdown,”” said Dietmar Bartsch, parliamentary group leader of Die Linke, on Tuesday. “The chancellor and her ministers should apologise to all citizens to encourage new confidence in the measures.”

His comments were echoed by the general manager of the HDE retail association, Stefan Genth: “The federal government and the federal states are operating in tunnel mode. The sole fixation on the corona incidence values does not do justice to the complex situation,” he said, adding that the “scientific facts” demonstrate that the “risk of infection when shopping is low”. He demanded that all shops be reopened with strict hygiene concepts in place. 

The German Bishops’ Conference (DBK) expressed irritation about the decision regarding Easter services. “The outcome reached us through the news this morning without any warning,” said DBK spokesperson Matthias Kopp. Criticisms also came in from the craft association ZDH, the German Motor Vehicle Industry and the events industry, who all warned that they were on the brink of collapse. 

Closure of grocery stores likely to cause a rush of customers

A number of critics have suggested that the decision to close grocery stores on the Thursday before Easter (April 1) is counterproductive, since it will likely only lead to a rush of customers on the days before and after, and thus increase the risk of infection. “To symbolically close the food trade with its proven, excellently functioning hygiene concepts for a day, does not help in the fight against the pandemic,” said Genth. 

This opinion was also expressed by Stephan Thomae of the FDP, who suggested that, conversely, the government should have thought about extending shop opening hours, to “stagger the flow of customers and reduce the risk of infection.” FDP boss Christian Lindner further criticised the results of the deliberations as “too sharp” and “lacking in imagination.” 

Relief from travel industry

The travel industry, on the other hand, has expressed relief that the government has not adopted a quarantine obligation for passengers returning from non-risk areas like Mallorca. The President of the German Travel Association (DRV), Norbert Fiebig, has also called for the government to make domestic travel possible wherever this is “justifiable in terms of health”, to help the industry get back on its feet. 

Fiebig also advised against making comparisons between Germany and the Spanish resort island of Mallorca, where coronavirus incidence rates are significantly lower.