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Fight against corona: the week of truth

2020-10-25T20:09:31.695Z


Are the tough measures from spring coming back? Chancellor Merkel and the prime ministers are looking for a way to fight the rapidly increasing number of infections. The next few days will be decisive.


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Berlin's Governing Mayor Müller, Chancellor Merkel, Bavaria's Prime Minister Söder

Photo: Stefanie Loos / dpa

The Chancellor's appearance on Saturday seemed a little helpless.

As if she wanted to shout: Why is nobody listening to me?

The corona pandemic has come to a head, said Angela Merkel (CDU) in her weekly podcast: "For me, what I told you last week still applies word for word."

What followed was simply Merkel's podcast from the week before.

Word by word.

The core: Merkel's urgent appeal to significantly reduce contacts outside the family, to refrain from traveling and also to stop celebrating.

On Sunday, Merkel followed up with the CDU parliamentary group leaders in an internal link.

"We are facing very, very difficult months," she said according to SPIEGEL information.

You don't have a good feeling, said Merkel about the current situation: "It can't go on like this."

First the "Bild" newspaper reported on the switching conference.

Merkel is not alone in her desperation.

There is increasing perplexity in German politics as to how the rapid spread of the corona virus can still be slowed down.

On Saturday, the Robert Koch Institute reported 14,714 new infections, the number of Covid-19 patients receiving intensive care rose to more than 1200. A scenario that predicted 20,000 daily infections by Christmas could already be in the coming week can be achieved.

Even now, health authorities in numerous cities and municipalities are overwhelmed with the follow-up of the many cases.

Federal ministries and other authorities ask their employees whether they can help out in the health authorities.

SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach is already warning of a new lockdown.

If it is not possible to limit personal contacts in the next two to three weeks, this could happen, Lauterbach told "Bild am Sonntag".

The federal government and the minister-presidents of the 16 countries absolutely want to prevent this.

A lockdown like in spring is considered the worst case scenario.

Not only, but mostly for business.

The situation is different from half a year ago, according to coalition circles.

We now know the virus and the risk factors better and no longer have to close entire areas of public life.

Schools and daycare centers, for example, should definitely remain open.

But for this to happen, the dynamics of the spread must be slowed down.

The federal government and state leaders face a week of truth.

The next few days will decide how the crisis will continue - and how hard the winter will be.

The most important dates of the week

On Monday, the heads of the state chancellery spoke about the situation on a video link.

A working group of the country representatives should present a concept for sporting events by the end of the month - which concerns, among other things, the football league.

So far, the rules in most countries stipulated that from an incidence of 35 infected people per 100,000 people in seven days no fans were allowed into the stadium.

In Berlin, however, 4500 spectators saw the game Union against SC Freiburg in the stadium on Saturday.

According to reports, some people in charge in sport advocate lifting the rule with the 35 incidence.

However, this is considered unlikely.

It would send the wrong signal in view of the general contact restrictions, say several state governments.

The Senate will meet on Tuesday in Berlin, the most severely affected state.

Health Senator Dilek Kalayci (SPD) has, according to "Tagesspiegel am Sonntag", presented a step-by-step plan that provides for lockdown-like measures should the situation worsen.

From circles of the red-red-green national coalition, however, it was said that only Kalayci's concept should be discussed on Tuesday.

There will be no decisions before another federal-state round.

And before schools are closed again, for example, there are other options, such as dividing classes into smaller groups.

Berlin's governing mayor Michael Müller (SPD) is reportedly also a guest in the SPD parliamentary group on Tuesday.

Then it should be about the ideas for a new infection protection law, among other things.

The social democrats demand that the requirements for the issuing of regulations need to be specified.

Prime ministers meet on Friday

Merkel wants to make a government statement on corona policy on Thursday morning.

A debate on the subject was planned anyway, according to the SPD parliamentary group.

Now it will be there after Merkel's speech.

The MPs complain across parties that they have too little say in the fight against the pandemic.

Many parliamentarians are particularly critical of the round of prime ministers with Merkel, who coordinates many decisions in the countries.

Such a conference is due again on Friday.

Then the annual conference of the Prime Ministers (MPK) takes place.

Actually, the country heads are among themselves.

But on Friday there will probably also be a conversation with Merkel, according to the federal government and the states.

Müller, MPK boss since the beginning of the month, canceled the planned meeting in Berlin two weeks ago. Instead, he invites his colleagues to watch the video.

In terms of content, apart from the sports concept, according to SPIEGEL information, no details about the pandemic are on the agenda.

Traditionally, the MPK chairman makes a proposal, they say.

Basically, however, one has to consider that this time it is a question of a longer perspective, according to an SPD-led country.

With the lockdown in spring you could give the citizens hope with the prospect of summer, in which the corona situation actually relaxed at times.

This time, however, you need rules that people adhered to for six months.

How far politics wants to go is still perplexed.

Icon: The mirror

Assistance: Timo Lehmann

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2020-10-25

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