Tables and chairs stored in front of closed restaurants in Cologne, Germany.SASCHA STEINBACH / EFE
Angela Merkel's Executive and the leaders of the Länder agreed on Wednesday to extend the restrictions that Germany has in force from mid-December until March 7.
The German media had speculated that the closure would be extended even further, until March 14, because this was indicated by a draft that the government brought to the meeting, but pressure from the political leaders of the
Länder
has caused them to come out with a Compromise agreement: one less week of confinement and the option for the States to decide whether to open schools and day care centers before that date.
The hotel business has been closed throughout Germany since the beginning of November, such as leisure, sports and culture (museums, exhibition halls, cinemas ...).
Non-essential shops also closed in mid-December and face-to-face teaching has not recovered since the Christmas holidays.
The educational community has been pressing for weeks to restore classes as soon as possible, as have some
Länder
, who have asked to open schools and nurseries from 1 March.
Hairdressers may also resume their activity from that day on.
The cases of covid-19 have been declining for several weeks in Germany, but the authorities do not stop repeating that they will not trust themselves in the face of the threat that the new variants of the coronavirus could spread and cause a third wave.
The cumulative incidence, of 68 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days, is three times lower than that of Spain (210).
Merkel thanked at a press conference "the efforts of citizens to achieve a decrease in infections, which have paid off."
The Chancellor repeated, as she has been doing for the last month, that Germany is detecting cases of the British variant, more contagious, and this forces the restrictive measures to be maintained.
The confinement was to continue until January 31, but it was extended until February 14 and, now, until March 7.
The chancellor and the states also agreed to relax some measures, for example, the closure of retail stores or cultural facilities such as museums, if they manage to reduce the incidence to less than 35 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days.
The next meeting to assess the situation will take place on March 3.
First dose of the vaccine to 2.9% of the population
Germany has administered 3.5 million doses of the coronavirus vaccines.
Of these, 2.4 million are first doses, which represents 2.9% of the German population.
A little over a million inhabitants already have the complete vaccination schedule, with the two doses.
Despite the problems of delays and reduced delivery of immunizations, common to the entire European Union, the federal government maintains its commitment that by the end of September the vaccine will have been offered to anyone who wants it.
The European Union has set itself a common goal that by the end of summer 70% of the European adult population is immunized.
Unlike Spain, which does not report on the progress of vaccination by population groups, Germany reports daily the number of doses administered to priority groups.
Until this Wednesday, the largest group is that of first-line healthcare professionals, with 1.6 million punctures.
They are followed by those over 80 years of age, of whom 1.2 million have already received at least one dose.
Germany has been administering the vaccine by age criteria since the campaign began in December, considering that people over 80 are the most vulnerable.
A million doses have also been given to residents in senior centers.
Premium for toilets
Angela Merkel's Government has approved this week a game of 450 million euros to reward health workers for their efforts during the second wave.
It is a single payment, up to 1,500 euros, tax-free and will be paid mid-year.
As the Health Minister explained on Monday, employees of more than 1,000 hospitals that have treated many patients with coronavirus will benefit from this bonus.
Each center will decide which professionals receive the bonus, from medical and nursing staff to cleaning staff.
Spahn acknowledged that the second wave has hit Germany harder and has put these professionals in a situation of greater stress and overload.
"As a society, we are grateful for this commitment," he said.
Last year Germany allocated another 100 million euros to reward the health workers most affected by the high number of patients in the first wave.
Then the premiums were up to 1,000 euros per professional.
Irregular vaccinations of politicians
Several regional newspapers have published these days cases of irregular vaccinations of politicians, mostly municipal and in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The most striking, as it is a city of more than 200,000 inhabitants, is that of the mayor of Halle, Bernd Wiegand.
Both he and 10 of his councilors were vaccinated, skipping the priority agreed between the Government and the federal states.
Wiegand, independent, said they were leftover doses from a hospital.
The controversy has barely reached beyond the state.
To questions from journalists on the matter, Minister Spahn urged the political class to set a "good example."
"We hope that citizens have patience in this difficult phase of the pandemic in a vaccination campaign with difficulties and great shortages," he added.
In addition to the mayor of Halle and his councilors, last week regional media reported that more than 300 police officers from the Stendal district (Saxony-Anhalt) were vaccinated in January, when it was not their turn yet - it is not yet because it is still getting vaccinated on the highest priority shift: over 80, first-line health personnel and residents in homes for the elderly—.
Also the district administrator of Wittenberg (Saxony-Anhalt), Jürgen Dannenberg, and his deputy skipped priority and were immunized, according to the regional press.
Spahn recalled Monday that it is only allowed to vaccinate those who do not belong to a priority group if at the end of the day there are excess doses in a center and the only option is to use them with other people or throw them away.