BERLIN (AP) – The German government said on Tuesday that it was extending the country’s blockade by three weeks until January 31, tightening the limits of social contacts and planning the limits of people’s movements in the most affected regions as it tries to reduce high infection figures. and a worrying number of coronavirus-related deaths.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was “absolutely necessary” to maintain the restrictions, especially in light of a more infectious variant of the virus that has appeared in England.
“We need to get to a point where we can track the chains of infection again,” Merkel said after a lengthy video conference with Germany’s 16 state governors. “Otherwise, we will continue to enter a deadlock after a short relaxation.”
The chancellor said the restrictions on social contacts would be tightened. People will be allowed to meet only one person outside their own household.
In a new move, authorities across Germany will allow people in areas with more than 200 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants over seven days to travel just 15 kilometers (just over nine miles) from their hometown, with unless they have a good reason to go further.
“In particular, day trips are not a good reason,” Merkel said. She pointed to a series of recent incidents in which day hikers hoping to ski or plant have overtaken winter resorts, even though ski lifts and other facilities are closed.
Merkel and the governors plan to consult again on January 25 on what happens after the end of the month.
Germany launched a partial nationwide shutdown on November 2, closing restaurants, bars, leisure and sports facilities. This failed to reduce infections, and the current blockade – which also closed non-essential shops and schools – came into force on 16 December.
Authorities say Germany’s reported number of COVID-19 cases is distorted by lower testing and delayed reporting at Christmas and New Year. The country’s disease control center says it expects to have a reliable picture of what has only happened since Jan. 17, Merkel said.
But even according to current figures, Germany is far from the stated goal of getting new confirmed cases below 50 per 100,000 residents in seven days – the maximum level at which officials say tracking contacts can work properly.
On Tuesday, the infection rate rose to 134.7 per 100,000 nationwide, and 944 deaths were reported to authorities in 24 hours, one of the highest daily death rates in a country with a relatively low rate. of COVID-19 mortality during the first pandemic. phase.
Merkel said the emergence of the new variant in England was “an additional reason” to maintain the restrictions. Several cases of the variant have been detected in Germany.
The Chancellor defended Germany’s approach to vaccinations, following criticism over perceptions that Europe had started slowly and that the European Union was too hesitant to order the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine, the only one authorized so far to be used in the bloc of 27 of nations.
Germany vaccinated nearly 317,000 people by Tuesday, just over a week after the campaign. This is a better presentation than in a few other EU countries, but critics have pointed to faster progress in the UK, the United States and Israel.
Merkel said it was “right and important” for the EU, rather than for individual countries, to order vaccines for the whole bloc. She said it was “in Germany’s interest” because the country is surrounded by other EU member nations and in the middle of the EU’s open-border trade area.
“A large number of people vaccinated in Germany, combined with many people who are not vaccinated in our neighborhood, will not be good for Germany,” she said. “So we don’t want national solo efforts. We believe that the most effective health protection for us can be achieved through a common European procedure. “
Health Minister Jens Spahn, who has faced criticism from Germany’s governing coalition, has repeatedly said vaccinations are progressing as expected and that the slow start is due to teams going to nursing homes first to vaccinate the most vulnerable. Merkel said she thought Spahn was doing “a great job.”
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