German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced Tuesday afternoon, after a video conference that lasted nearly five hours with provincial prime ministers, that the current restrictions will be extended and more tightening will be imposed in Germany due to the Coronavirus epidemic.
MTI reporter Angela Merkel said the federal government and district leaders have decided to keep and tighten restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak until January 31.
Given the reductions achieved over the Christmas holidays, a clear picture of the impact of the measures is not expected to be available until the second half of January.
The Chancellor stressed that the goal remains to reduce the infection for a period of seven days (the number of infected people per 100,000 inhabitants) to less than 50, as this is the only way to monitor the chain of infection. This is of great importance due to the new mutation of the virus spreading from Britain.
It reduces human relations to the “absolute minimum”. Local residents have limited space to maneuver in infection hotspots. Schools and kindergartens are still closed, and parents can stay home with their children longer than before, for 20 days. Factory kitchens are closed.
The chancellor and regional prime ministers will meet on January 25 to assess the impact of the measures.
