Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday recognized families have had to carry an increased burden during the pandemic as Germany closed its schools, as well as asking parents to work from home.

However, she indicated it’s still too early to reopen Germany’s places of childcare and education.

“We are not yet ready to reopen daycare centers and schools,” she said in her weekly video podcast released on Saturday. “But the more consistent we are now, refraining from contact and keeping our distance, following hygiene rules and wearing masks, the sooner it will be possible again.”

‘Huge effort’

Speaking ahead of her Monday meeting with Germany’s 16 state premiers to discuss the pandemic, Merkel said the crisis had required a “huge effort” from families in the face of the weeks-long lockdown, but she appealed for more patience.

“We are doing everything we can to be the first to reopen daycare centers and schools in order to give children back a piece of their familiar everyday life and to relieve families,” Merkel said.

At the same time, Merkel warned against “a very real danger from highly contagious virus mutations.”

The German government has come under increased pressure over its slow vaccine rollout. There have been supply bottlenecks on the part of pharmaceutical companies, as well as uncertainty over the AstraZeneca vaccine’s efficacy in people aged 65 and over, at least in Germany.

Lockdown set to continue beyond mid-February

According to the Robert Koch Institute, the number of new infections reported within a seven-day period per 100,000 inhabitants is currently at 90.9. The federal government’s target is 50.

Until this number is significantly reduced, there is little end in sight for Germany’s lockdown, which is due to end on February 14, according to Ralph Brinkhaus, the leader of Merkel’s conservative bloc in the German parliament.

“Better to take a little tougher action now for a little longer than an out-in-out-in-out situation, which ultimately wears everyone down,” he told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland on Saturday.

On Friday, Germany announced entry restrictions for travelers from the UK, Ireland, Brazil, Portugal, and South Africa, as concerns continued to rise over more contagious coronavirus variants.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-angela-merkel-urges-patience-with-lockdown-rules/a-56392261

The post Germany: Angela Merkel urges patience with lockdown rules first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Germany’s state and federal governments agreed on January 5 to extend and expand coronavirus lockdown rules in the country for another three weeks.  This time, the rules are even more stringent.

Deutsche Welle says the current lockdown regulations, including the closure of schools, will now be in place until at least January 31, and new rules have been introduced.

Hotspot travel ban: under new regulations, residents of areas deemed coronavirus hotspots will be restricted from traveling more than 15 kilometers from their town without a valid reason.  Day trips are specifically ruled out.

At the time of the announcement, about one in six German districts had incident rates over the hotspot threshold of 200 cases per 100,000 residents over seven days.

Private meeting limit: additionally, contact at private meetings will be restricted to just one other person not living in the same household.

Double testing: people arriving in Germany from high-risk areas will be required to submit two negative test results.  A minimum five day quarantine period will be mandated, even if the first test is negative.

Extra leave for parents: parents will receive an extra 10 days leave to look after children, while single parents will receive an extra 20 days.

Source: https://asiaplustj.info/en/news/world/20210106/germany-extends-coronavirus-lockdown-until-february

The post Germany extends coronavirus lockdown until February first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.