New lockdown shock for Germany: The Chancellor expects the tough measures to be extended for another two months.
She said that internally, our editorial team learned.
Berlin - shops closed, restaurants closed, schools closed - and little hope for improvement: Politicians are apparently planning to continue the
lockdown
that
began in November
for many more weeks.
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) made it clear in a round with Union politicians that it could not be relaxed at the end of January.
She warned in clear words of a new danger from the mutation of the corona virus, which is apparently causing the number of infections to rise sharply in the British Isles.
Merkel expresses herself internally: Will the corona lockdown not end for a good two months?
"If we do not manage to keep this British virus off, we will have a tenfold incidence by Easter," Merkel is
quoted
by
Bild
from the
internal group of Union internal politicians
.
That's what she said, participants in our editorial team confirmed.
"It will be tough until Easter," the news agency also quoted a statement by Merkel from the meeting.
Fractional groups tried to make it clear that Merkel had not explicitly spoken of an unchanged extension of the lockdown.
The Chancellor's concern is evidently that the British mutation is no more deadly than the virus that dominates the rest of Europe, but it is much more
contagious
.
In the end, this would lead to significantly more infections and much more stressful clinics.
Merkel's drastic conclusion in the one-hour video conference on Tuesday morning: “We still need eight to ten weeks of tough measures.” Relaxation is only possible
towards Easter
, even with the then warmer weather.
Merkel warns of months of corona lockdown - Vice Chancellor is also preparing for an extension
Merkel has already officially prepared the citizens for tough weeks - most recently on Saturday in her weekly podcast.
The
measures that have now been extended and, in some cases, tightened
by the
federal and state governments,
are drastic, the restrictions severe, but also "absolutely necessary," she said.
Experts see things differently: The virologist Alexander Kekulé, for example, reprimanded a “concrete slab” policy on Monday evening on ARD and even warned of a lockdown “until June or July”, as
can be read
on
Merkur.de
*.
However, he also mentioned alternatives.
Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz
(SPD)
also
agreed
on Tuesday in the warnings of a further extension of the
corona lockdown in Germany
: "It is not said that the tightened lockdown until the end of January
pushed
Covid-19 back
so far that we are loosening it again can, ”said Scholz of the
Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung
.
“Anyone who promises that now is acting lightly and destroying trust.” Scholz also referred to “aggressive
mutations
” of the pathogen.
Scholz also warned urgently "against the mistaken assumption" that the virus is only dangerous for high-risk patients.
Nobody is safe from the
corona risk
.
"We only survived when large parts of the population have been vaccinated," said
Scholz
.
The Vice Chancellor was convinced that isolating certain “vulnerable” groups would lead “astray”.
The few countries that have taken this route have "paid bitterly for it and have since turned around".
Corona lockdown: Federal and state governments will meet again at the end of January - Merkel criticism from Bavaria
However, the federal government has not yet given a specific time horizon for an end to the restrictions.
The Chancellor and Prime Minister
want to reassess the current development of the
pandemic
on January 25
.
Resolutions on how to proceed should be made on February 1st.
Several statements made in the last few days suggest an extension.
Also
Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder
(CSU) had made it clear not to be expected in February with a relaxation of the situation.
He also referred to the British mutation, which is currently leading to skyrocketing case numbers in Great Britain and Ireland.
The “basic motto” for the near future must be “stay at home”, he said on Tuesday.
Corona lockdown until Easter?
FDP boss Lindner criticizes Merkel's statement - "not responsible"
On Tuesday, however, there was also very direct criticism of Merkel's statement from Bavaria: Söder's deputy
Hubert Aiwanger
(Free Voters) complained on
that “not primarily tough measures” were needed for eight to ten weeks, but “effective measures”.
As an example, he cited the use of
FFP2 masks
"where people outside the family come together" - for example when shopping.
This is exactly what Söder had announced shortly before as the upcoming mandatory measure for Bavaria.
Critics include
FDP leader Christian Lindner
and
left
parliamentary group leader Dietmar Bartsch
.
Bartsch warned that there should not be an endless loop and called for a "transparent debate" in the Bundestag.
Lindner made it clear that he considered a prospect of another ten weeks with the current measures “not to be responsible”.
The social and economic damage increased every day.
Instead, he called for a step-by-step plan of how the country could be restarted step by step regionally.
Union faction leader
Ralph Brinkhaus
(CDU), however, did not rule out tougher rules.
If it was necessary, he was in favor of “sharpening” the measures again, said Brinkhaus.
Nobody can say whether the
lockdown
will last “eight, ten or twelve weeks”.
(
cd / fn
) *
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.
List of rubric lists: © Michael Kappeler / AFP / POOL
