German Minister of Economy and Energy Peter Altmeier said on the 15th that Germany’s anti-pandemic measures against Coronavirus pandemic may last for 4 to 5 months. Don’t expect these measures to be lifted soon.
Altmaier told Germany’s “Sunday Bild” that the current number of Coronavirus infections in Germany shows that “we have not yet out of the forest” and that Germany “cannot bear the consequences of repeated closures and openings of economic activities”.
Due to the rebound of Coronavirus pandemic, Germany began to “partially close the city” on the 2nd of this month for a period of 4 weeks. This round of pandemic prevention and restriction measures is not as strict as the first round of “closures” in the first half of the year. Its purpose is to reduce the rate of Coronavirus infection. Specific measures include the closure of restaurants, bars, theaters, playgrounds and other catering and cultural and sports facilities for one month, and public places are not allowed to gather. More than 2 households with 10 people are advised to give up unnecessary travel and visits.
However, unlike the first round of “closures”, shops such as barber shops, retail and wholesale shops can continue to operate subject to certain restrictions, and schools and kindergartens in various states can also remain open in accordance with local pandemic prevention policies.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to meet with state officials on the 16th to discuss whether the current anti-pandemic measures can slow the rapid increase in new cases.
pandemic data from the Robert Koch Institute, a German disease control agency, on the 15th showed that a total of 790,503 confirmed cases of Coronavirus nationwide, 16947 new cases in a single day. Generally speaking, the report and summary of the outbreak in Germany are slow on weekends, so the number of confirmed cases on weekends is relatively small.
Altmaier said that if you do not want to see 50,000 new cases in a single day, you should not think that the pandemic prevention and blockade measures should be relaxed as soon as possible. “Some countries that have lifted restrictions prematurely have paid a high price.”
Many officials of the German government held the same position with Altmeier. The Minister of Health Jens Spann said the day before that the anti-pandemic measures may last “weeks” or even “months.” Frank Ulrich Montgomery, chairman of the German branch of the World Medical Association, told Germany’s “Augsburg Report” that he believes that Germany “will discuss implementing further restrictive measures, rather than relaxing current measures.”
Some people in Germany expressed dissatisfaction with anti-pandemic measures such as the “second lockdown”. There was a rally in Frankfurt on the 14th to oppose the anti-pandemic measures. The demonstrators failed to wear masks and maintain social distance in accordance with the regulations. The police fired water cannons to disperse the demonstrators. (Zheng Haoning) (Xinhua News Agency special feature)
