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Corona in Germany: Merkel wants "lockdown light" - but RKI is said to have clearly contradicted her on one point

2020-10-29T04:36:22.141Z


Chancellor Angela Merkel and Head of the Chancellery Helge Braun are said to have made a Corona appeal directly to the top CDU bodies. The situation is assessed as "threatening": "Every day counts".


Chancellor Angela Merkel and Head of the Chancellery Helge Braun are said to have made a Corona appeal directly to the top CDU bodies.

The situation is assessed as "threatening": "Every day counts".

  • The corona situation * in Germany is serious.

  • On Saturday, Chancellor Angela Merkel * issued an urgent warning.

  • Is the "Lockdown Light" coming?

Update from October 28, 6.41 a.m.:

Today, Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to decide on new corona measures with the Prime Minister.

According to the draft resolution that has been submitted to the German Press Agency, these should be equivalent to a lockdown.

Opinions are already divided.

With new rules, some of which are no longer comprehensible, Merkel could completely gamble away the acceptance of some citizens.

Update from October 27th, 1.40 p.m.:

Before the next

federal-state meeting

,

Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder

(CSU) made his thrust clear: He calls for quick and consistent countermeasures.

"We have to prove ourselves tomorrow," said Söder at a press conference in Munich.

It is not about the last chance in the

fight against Corona

, but about a "further, very decisive stage".

What specific countermeasures he demands Söder was initially open, but he stressed: "Dear equal and correct as late and half-hearted, and rather with an effective therapy than with pure placebos." It no longer exists many ways things

to control uniform nationally

.

And it is not enough to decide something that will be outdated in two weeks, warned Söder.

The hospitality industry is already in turmoil.

Guido Zöllick

, President of the German Hotel and Restaurant

Association DEHOGA

, warned of the collapse of his industry on Tuesday

.

"It cannot be that we are the ones to suffer again," he emphasized.

Numbers from the RKI

(see update from 12 noon) showed that

hotels and restaurants are

not a pandemic driver.

In the event of a politically ordered stop, politics would have to pay for the damage.

"A third of the 245,000 businesses are threatened with extinction if they close again," he warned.

Even the

German trade

is concerned.

According to the

HDE

association

, many companies will not survive another lockdown.

Merkel wants "lockdown light" - but RKI is said to have clearly contradicted her on one point

Update from October 27th, 12.00 p.m.:

New restrictions for Germany could already be decided on Wednesday in the round of the Chancellor and Prime Minister - the provisional

closure of bars, restaurants and pubs

is also under discussion

.

Apparently there are technical doubts about this plan: According to information from the

picture

, the

Robert Koch Institute

(RKI) expressly does not consider gastronomy to be an infection driver in the

corona pandemic

.

In a

confidential video session

with

Chancellery Minister Helge Braun (CDU)

and the heads of the state state chancelleries, the institute made it clear that there was

no evidence

that the

catering establishments were promoting infections

.

Compliance with hygiene and distance rules usually work.

A spokeswoman for the

RKI

did

not want to comment on

the representation when asked by

Bild

with a view to the “confidential content” of the conversations.

However, she referred to a paper several weeks old in which the experts came to the conclusion that

restaurants

appear

as

sources of infection

“comparatively much less often”

than other areas

.

The decision-makers may have to face the accusation that they

ignore scientific findings during interventions

- the RKI had also criticized the idea of ​​the ban on accommodation with surprisingly clear clarity.

Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder

is currently facing similar criticism

: In an interview with

Merkur.de

*, the

head of the Green parliamentary group, Katharina Schulze, criticized

the state government for restricting cultural events without making the relevant scientific findings public.

Corona strategy: Merkel is planning “Lockdown Light” for Germany - and is getting broad support

Update from October 27, 10:05 a.m.:

On Wednesday, the 16 Prime Ministers will meet again with

Chancellor Angela Merkel

- the measures may be

tightened again

due to the

corona pandemic

(see update from October 26, 5:19 p.m.)

.

“Lockdown Light” is the keyword.

Now more voices are being raised who can imagine such tightening: If the number of

infections

continues to rise, the deputy CDU federal chairman

Thomas Strobl is

calling for

a temporary

corona lockdown in Germany

, as

reported by the

AFP

news

agency

.

Compared to the news portal

The Pioneer

, he speaks of more stringent measures, "for example that we shut everything down once for a week".

For Strobl,

closing

everything means also

closing

schools

,

daycare centers

and

shops

, and also restricting

border traffic

.

He himself calls it a "very, very hard" solution.

SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach has already spoken about partial lockdowns *.

He

told

the

Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger

on Tuesday that this was necessary "for a limited time" in order

to break

the

wave of infections

.

"Otherwise we will run into an uncontrollable lockdown," warns Lauterbach.

And what do the Germans expect?

According to a

survey by

the YouGov opinion research institute on behalf of the

German Press Agency,

63 percent

expect

a lockdown in which shops, restaurants and schools will be closed.

23 percent do not believe in it, 13 percent did not provide any information.

Merkel on the corona pandemic: "A practical test for our society"

Update from October 26, 6:57 p.m.:

Angela Merkel

pointed out

the danger of growing social upheaval in the

Corona crisis

.

"The pandemic hits us all, but some are particularly hard," said Merkel on Monday evening in a video address on the occasion of the presentation of the German Social Prize.

This is especially true for those who are "not on the sunny side of life" anyway.

The

pandemic

is proving to be a "test for our society and its cohesion," said the

Chancellor

.

She referred to the efforts of the federal government to protect non-profit organizations in the

Corona crisis

through support

programs.

The Chancellor emphasized the important social role of charities, but also their contribution in the fight against extremism.

Turnaround in the Corona strategy: Merkel is apparently planning a "lockdown light" for Germany - massive restrictions threaten

Update from October 26, 5:19 p.m.:

Angela Merkel

and the 16 prime ministers

will meet

for the prime ministerial

conference

on Wednesday

.

Apparently, the Chancellor is planning a

"lockdown ligth"

because of the increasing corona infections

.

According to information from the

picture

, several measures are to be tightened.

  • Schools and daycare centers

     should remain open, except in regions with catastrophically high infection rates.

  • Shops

     are likely to remain open, with restrictions.

  • Restaurants and bars

    have to close, however, events should be banned.

"It will have to be discussed what can be done to curb the spread of the virus as soon as possible," announced government

spokesman Steffen Seibert

on Monday afternoon.

"Our focus must be on what the federal and state governments can do together to break this trend as quickly as possible."

Seibert said he “counts on resolutions”.

A

partial lockdown

would be a

turn in Germany's corona strategy

, which most recently was based primarily on regional measures.

However, the past Prime Minister's conferences showed that the 16 country leaders were often unable to agree on uniform measures, but whether this will change on Wednesday remains questionable.

Update from October 26th, 4:19 p.m.:

At 6 p.m. Angela Merkel will give


a virtual speech

at the award ceremony of the Social Prize 2020 of the

Federal Association of Independent Welfare Care.

It is not clear whether she will also comment on the current corona situation.

Update from October 26th, 11.30 a.m.:

Chancellor

Angela Merkel

and Chancellor

Helge Braun

should, according to information from the

picture

in an appeal directly to the

top CDU

bodies.

In the context of this appeal, you are said to have described the situation as

“threatening”

and

emphasized

the urgency of

measures

:

“Every day counts”

.

Since there is currently a doubling of the number of

infections

every seven days, one comes to the conclusion that the previous measures would not be sufficient.

A slowdown in the infection process is not noticeable.

In addition, the health authorities could no longer understand chains of infection.

The current situation is

"highly dynamic"

, which can be

assessed

as

"dramatic"

.

Merkel appeals to top CDU bodies: the situation is "threatening"

One consequence could be that there will soon be problems in the

intensive care units

.

Merkel

is said to

have spoken

to her

party colleagues

of a

"difficult situation"

.

Their appeal is clear:

"The increase must be stopped"

.

The head of the

Chancellery, Helge Braun,

is said to

have declared,

according to

picture

information, that

there is

less

fear of Corona

among

the population

.

The

federal government's

measures worked

well in the summer.

Now the situation has changed, however, and if the development progresses like this, the

intensive care units

would eventually be overloaded.

Therefore, you absolutely have to shut down all contacts.

In this way, the pandemic could be made controllable again.

Another

summit of

the 16

Prime Ministers

and the

Federal Chancellor is

scheduled for

next Friday (October 30th)

.

Merkel has

already warned that tougher and more uniform measures must now be taken in the fight against the pandemic.

Decisions on this would have to be discussed this week.

Update from October 26th, 9:30 a.m.:

Chancellor Angela Merkel

(CDU)

has repeatedly

addressed the population

with drastic

appeals about the corona situation

- internally, however, the German head of government is apparently even clearer.

In the meantime, further details on Merkel's statements in a

virtual meeting with the Union parliamentary group leaders are

known.

According to a report by

Bild

,

the Chancellor said

that she “did not have a good feeling”;

they assume that the number of

infections

will

continue to rise sharply

.

According to the information, Merkel expects that

no major events will be

possible

until at least February, even in the open air

.

Corona cannot be brought under control "with simple means".

Due to data protection concerns in Germany, the

Korean way of tracking is also

not a means - for the same reason, the

German Corona app

brings

little.

Merkel has "let it through several times" that one could have listened to her earlier, it says in the article.

She identified

vacation travel

as a main reason for the rising numbers

.

The Chancellor deliberately did not want to sound “opinionated”.

Indirectly, she also made it clear that she considers

capacity problems in some regions' hospitals

to be possible.

"I do not think that someone in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where there is still capacity, would like to be admitted to the hospital because it is already full elsewhere", quoted the

Bild

Merkel.

Merkel also apparently commented on

the

subject of vaccines

.

The Chancellor allegedly stated that she expected the vaccine from the manufacturer Biontech to be approved in mid or late December.

Most recently there was often talk of vaccine approval in the spring of 2021. Already on Sunday it was reported that Merkel had declared her concern about “very, very difficult months” in the switchboard - and with regard to the corona pandemic of a “visitation “And (again)“ doom ”spoken.

Merkel gives Corona assessment in an internal conversation - statements leaked

Initial report: Berlin

- The

corona situation

in

Germany

is getting worse.

In the past few days, the daily new infections were always in the five-digit range and the number of reproductions was well above 1. In addition, the number of corona hotspots in the country is increasing noticeably.

More and more of the 401 German urban and rural districts are breaking the critical incidence mark * of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants.

While there were 97 districts a week ago, there are currently 251. In view of these worrying developments,

Chancellor Angela Merkel is

on the alert.

On Saturday, the CDU politician * already made an appeal to the population and again urged people to refrain from traveling and making contacts.

“The order of the day for all of us is: reduce contacts.

Meet a lot fewer people, "she said in her video podcast published on Saturday.

Merkel

said that compared to last week, "the 

pandemic situation has worsened 

even further."

Check out this post on Instagram

The number of corona infections continues to rise rapidly.

But we are not powerless against the virus.

What everyone can and should do now: Reduce contacts and meet fewer people.

Chancellor Merkel in an unusual podcast:

A post shared by Angela Merkel (@bundeskanzlerin) on Oct 24, 2020 at 1:12 am PDT

Corona in Germany: internal Merkel conversation seeps through - "it can't go on like this"

After her warning words on Saturday, the

Chancellor

apparently

stepped up the

next day and again warned of difficult times.

"We are facing very, very difficult months," said the

CDU politician,

according to bild.de, in a switching conference with the

CDU parliamentary group

leaders in

the federal states.

According to

dpa

information, the head of the Union parliamentary group, Ralph Brinkhaus (CDU), also took part in the round.

Before the upcoming

Prime Minister's Conference

, which is to take place on October 30, Merkel “doesn't have such a good feeling” because of the current infection situation, because “it can't go on like this,” the

Bild

quoted

from the confidential conversation.

In addition, the Chancellor * is said to have

literally referred to

Corona

as a "visitation" and "calamity" that no one could have imagined before.

Corona in Germany: what's next?

Merkel apparently gives a prognosis

For the coming months, the

CDU politician was

therefore not very optimistic and apparently predicted that no larger events would be possible outside at least until February.

In addition, it is said to have made the population responsible again and made it clear what should now be demonstrated: "Discipline, discipline, discipline." In addition, the

pandemic

could not be mastered "with simple means".

Merkel

is said to have

explicitly not used the

word “

lockdown

.

(as) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.

List of rubric lists: © Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP Pool / AP / dpa

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-10-29

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