Söder talks about the end of the corona shotdown: "Don't get up too early"

When can the corona restrictions in Germany be expected to end? Health Minister Jens Spahn made a first assessment and Chancellor Braun also spoke.

• Far-reaching measures have also been decided in Germany because of the corona virus.
• It is not yet clear how long the restrictions will apply.
• Here you will find the basic facts about the corona virus. You can also find current case numbers in Germany as a map.

Update March 26, 19:51: The Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder warned in a video message on Thursday that the corona restrictions would end prematurely. Söder said in the message sent via Twitter:

"I think we can get through this, but it is important that you don't get up too quickly, as if you have a normal other illness, and start again too soon, then it can get a lot worse in the end."

And further: "If we want to be successful and if we want to get out of this crisis, we must continue on the path that we have now taken," said Söder in a video message distributed on Thursday evening.

Söder may also have responded to a statement by his deputy Hubert Aiwanger (free voters). The Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs and Vice-Government had said on Wednesday evening on BR television that of course one had to “keep an eye on the exit”.

The cohesion in the Corona crisis is impressive. Now we have to hold out together. Please keep the basic exit restrictions so reliable. Only then can the measures take effect. Let's continue on the path we have chosen! pic.twitter.com/1XwR6H7MAK

When does the corona shutdown end? Linke mad at Spahn and RKI: "That is irresponsible!"

Update March 26, 4:55 p.m .: It is still unclear when the ban on contacts and exit restrictions in Germany can be relaxed again - and what effects this would have on the coronavirus crisis . But first concrete considerations are already underway in Bavaria . Markus Soder's coalition partner in the state government, the free voters , is working on plans for the period after the shutdown.

A working group "Exit Strategy Coronavirus" founded on Thursday is now dealing with "what comes after the end of the pandemic - measures that should take effect as soon as we can return to normal life," said the group. “We therefore call for a widely available antibody test that can be used to determine the basic immunization of the population. Groups of people who can expect a severe Covid 19 course must be better isolated and protected, ”said parliamentary group leader Florian Streibl .

Meanwhile, there is also a lot of debate about switching to the isolation of the elderly and risk groups. A corresponding proposal by the Green Party politician Boris Palmer has met with some violent reactions. Such considerations are also supported by a well-known philosopher.

Corona shutdown: Obviously great agreement among the population - Germans expect expansion

Update March 26, 3:35 pm: There is apparently a lot of support among the population for the ban on contact and the further measures against the spread of the coronavirus. 88 percent of the respondents to a YouGov survey on behalf of dpa agree with the previously adopted regulations. One in three (32 percent) would like even tougher restrictions. Only eight percent of Germans consider the measures to be excessive.

83 percent say they fully adhere to the agreed rules, 12 percent partly. Only two percent state that they do not follow the new rules at all. The older the respondents are, the more likely they are to stick to the contact block. 64 percent expressed the expectation that the measures adopted to avoid human contacts would be tightened again .

When does the corona shutdown end? Linke mad at Spahn and RKI: "That is irresponsible!"

Update March 26, 3:01 p.m .: The left in the Bundestag is heavily criticizing the federal government's crisis management in terms of coronavirus - especially with a view to getting out of the shutdown. Neither health minister Jens Spahn (CDU) nor the Robert Koch Institute were "able to make the public transparent about which criteria, such as new infection rates or hospital occupancy", should be decided about the relaxation of the measures, the group's health expert complained, Achim Kessler .

"That is irresponsible!" He added. "Of course, the situation has to be updated on a daily basis, but people have the justified right to know the ministry's timetable in times of uncertainty and massive restrictions on their freedom of movement." Decisions of this magnitude should "neither be delayed nor made in the ministerial back room".

Corona shutdown: end in sight? Scheuer wants to "wait for the facts"

Update March 26, 2:21 pm: Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner (CDU) did not want to give a forecast at a press conference at noon about a possible end of the shutdown. "You shouldn't speculate on such a date," she said.

"I can understand the impatience in the country," said Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) . At the same time: "We accept the situation because health comes first". One now has to wait for the facts - and ensure that the country is well prepared for a revival of the economy.

Update March 26, 1.30 p.m .: SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach also warns of a premature end of the shutdown in Germany due to the corona crisis . "We should not now accept the deaths and lifelong damage of many for a few weeks faster normality in the economy," Lauterbach warned in a tweet on Thursday. “This discussion is also about money for health. Health comes first: the economy is recovering, the dead are not. ”

We must not now accept deadly and lifelong damage to many for a few weeks faster normality in the economy. This discussion is also about money for health. Health comes first: the economy is recovering, the dead are not https://t.co/lvaIy7hT5r

When does the corona shutdown end? German cities in great concern - Minister warns: "Not okay"

Update March 26, 12:32 pm: When does the corona shutdown end ? There is already an increasingly sharp political struggle over this question. The Association of Cities and Towns (DStGB) has now appealed to the federal and state governments to develop strategies for relaxing current exit restrictions. "In the long term, we cannot paralyze the entire country," said managing director Gerd Landsberg to the newspapers of the Funke media group - even if the measures are currently "correct and necessary".

A key question was whether school operations and childcare would resume after the Easter holidays, Landsberg said. An opening of restaurants must also be considered. The restriction of larger events and special distance rules would be necessary in the long term. Landsberg warned that a total restriction could only ever be a short-term solution. At the same time, he called for financial aid in the Handelsblatt : "Nothing would be more dramatic than jeopardizing the functioning of the municipalities in these difficult times due to a lack of financial resources".

Bundestag Vice President Thomas Oppermann (SPD) also pleaded for such considerations. "We now have to look for ways to get the business going again in the foreseeable future," Oppermann told RTL and n-tv. "We cannot now set ourselves up in a completely bleak, that-remains-now-for-months perspective."

Oppermann and his SPD party friends Hubertus Heil and Stephan Weil also dampened hopes. He believes that April is all it takes to get the knowledge he needs, Oppermann said. "A sudden return to normal is hardly conceivable," said Prime Minister of Lower Saxony Weil. At best, a "step-by-step approach" is conceivable. "To announce now, that is over after Easter, that is a wish," emphasized Minister of Labor Heil. Other demands were "not okay".

Corona shutdown: end in sight? Virologist Drosten also comments

Update March 26, 11.30 a.m .: The well-known virologist Christian Drosten has clearly dampened hopes of an abrupt end to the restrictions on public life. "Such simple demands that one simply isolates risk groups does not work," he said at a press conference with Science Minister Anja Karliczek (CDU).

Christian Drosten (right) at a press conference with Minister Anja Karliczek on Thursday.

© dpa / Michael Kappeler

Still, you have to "get out of there," of course, Drosten said. The effect of the restrictions must now be "made a little more specific". Here, too, science is asked. Politicians need model predictions. "In the near future", the regulations will probably be "adjusted", he emphasized. Karliczek also said it was "not a permanent condition".

When does the corona shutdown end? Seehofer opposes demands: "Not with me"

Update March 26, 9.45 a.m .: Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) swears the Germans, with some clear words, to continue the corona lockdown until at least Easter . The ability of the economy to function "to be restored by accepting many dead or sick people who are healed but have permanent damage is out of the question for me," he told Süddeutsche Zeitung in an interview published on Thursday. "Not with me," emphasized Seehofer.

"It is an illusion to think that a virus can be controlled step by step, so that only the 90-year-olds or 80-year-olds or 70-year-olds are affected," said Seehofer, referring to possible loosening of curfews and shop closings : "If I do so Hear something, I go crazy. "Seehofer - like many virologists - also denied ideas to counter the coronavirus crisis by establishing" herd immunity ". On the one hand, there is no guarantee of immunity to the virus, on the other hand for others, this strategy means accepting sacrifices, which he considers "unacceptable".

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer at a cabinet meeting.

© dpa / Fabrizio Bensch

However, the Federal Minister of the Interior has already indicated a possible time horizon for an end to the rigid regulations. "Great discipline until Easter is necessary". After that, a reassessment is appropriate - and bridging measures “until we have an effective medication or a vaccine”.

Among others, Union faction vice Carsten Linnemann (CDU) has called for an end to the economic break after Easter . "For the entire economy and our state, the damage will be sustainable and cannot be compensated for decades if we do not gradually start up the economy again after Easter at the latest," Linnemann told Bild . Bavaria's Vice Prime Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voter) also spoke on Wednesday of the end of the measures in mid-April.

Corona shutdown: Chancellor's office becomes concrete - this is what the next steps would look like

Update March 25, 6:02 pm: For the first time, Chancellor Helge Braun has hinted at how the contact restrictions due to the Corona crisis could be relaxed: "The next phase is of course: Young people who are not among the risk groups are again allowed to focus on the But then we have to test consistently, find the infected and keep track of their contacts so that it doesn't increase exponentially again. "

Braun said this via the Jodel app when he answered questions from Internet users. Currently, a lot depends on whether the infection curve can be kept flat with the measures that have been decided. "This will show up in the next two weeks," said Braun. Then hopefully the question of an end to the restrictions could also be answered.

Spahn speaks of time after Corona - end of shutdown in sight?

Berlin - The corona virus * and the measures decided on because of the pathogen are currently paralyzing the economy and public life in Germany . So far it is not clear how long the ban on contact announced by Angela Merkel , the school closings or the exit restrictions in Bavaria * will last.

"There will be a time after Corona," said Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn on Wednesday in the Bundestag in Berlin. However, it is completely unclear when this time will come. Spahn once again drew attention to the reasons for the measures currently being taken: the nationwide contact blocks served to keep the operation of clinics and medical practices running. "The time we are gaining now protects our health care system against overload and overwork," said the minister. The willingness of citizens to help is enormous.

Spahn then offered prospects for the Federal Government to phase out the current corona protective measures for the first time . "We use this time to not only develop concepts, but also prepare them for implementation, as we can gradually remove restrictions ," said Spahn.

End of corona measures: Spahn wants concept by Easter

Spahn did not give a time frame for this. "The more determined we are now, the faster we can get back to everyday life," he said. "If we develop a new sense of belonging in this crisis, it will also strengthen us for the future - because there will be a time after Corona."

Spahn also told Die Zeit that an overall concept for a possible end to the corona measures was to be developed by Easter. Part of this could be asking older people "possibly over a period of several months to severely limit their contacts and, if in doubt, to stay at home."

Because of the corona virus, public life in Germany is idle.

© dpa / Robert Michael

Before that, FDP chief Christian Lindner warned of the consequences of longer restrictions in the corona crisis and demanded that people be given freedom again as soon as possible. The current restrictions such as the ban on contact * are proportionate, said the chairman of the FDP group on Wednesday in the Bundestag. "But the current state contradicts human nature."

Video: What helps if no protective mask is available?

End of corona measures: Lindner calls for “exit strategy”

It does not suit an open society, endangers the economy and also social peace, "if people's acceptance could decrease in the very near future", Lindner warned. The condition must therefore be overcome "step by step, but as quickly as possible". For this, the health care system would have to be upgraded and a comprehensive test for the coronavirus provided. The government, states and municipalities would have to "do everything so that people can return to freedom as quickly as possible."

In conversation with the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , Lindner also called for an “exit strategy” in the corona crisis . The FDP is currently carrying a lot of measures, "but at the same time we ask every day how long these are still necessary and what is being done to make them dispensable," the FDP chief told the paper.

Coronavirus: Linnemann (CDU) demands shutdown end after Easter

Union parliamentary group vice-president Carsten Linnemann (CDU) went one step further and called for an end to the economic break after Easter in the coronavirus crisis. "For the entire economy and our state, the damage will be sustainable and cannot be compensated for decades if we do not gradually start up the economy again after Easter at the latest," said Linnemann of the Bild newspaper (Wednesday). For some companies, the limit has already been reached. The time until then must be used to contain the virus and prepare the health system for the epidemic, said the head of the middle class and economic union.

One way out of current restrictions could be to develop a vaccine * and a corona drug *.

US President Donald Trump wants to remove the restrictions in North America until Easter if possible. However, he receives a lot of criticism for this.

rjs / dpa / afp

* merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.

List of rubric lists: © dpa / Sven Hoppe