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Markus Söder with protective mask (archive image)
Photo: Sven Hoppe / dpa
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) is calling for the corona restrictions, which are limited to January 10, to be extended by a further three weeks.
“The lockdown has to be extended until the end of January.
Premature loosening would throw us back a long way, "he told" Bild am Sonntag "before the Prime Minister's Conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) planned for Tuesday.
“The numbers are just way too high.
The effects of Christmas and New Year's Eve are not yet foreseeable. «This could only be assessed precisely in mid-January, said Söder.
"We have to be consistent and not give up too early." According to the CSU politician, the "weakness of the corona policy in Germany" consists in the fact that "started too late and stopped too early".
Söder also spoke out in favor of a longer closure of daycare centers and schools - and for an adapted holiday planning: »There must be no hasty opening of schools and daycare centers.
In view of the high numbers of infections, it would be irresponsible to simply send teachers and students back to school completely.
It has been shown that infection and spread also take place in school.
The danger is highest especially after the holidays. "
On Tuesday, Chancellor Merkel wants to discuss the situation with the state prime ministers.
It should also be decided whether the current lockdown will continue after January 10th.
According to a media report, the countries basically agree on the extension - but not on whether it should last two or three weeks.
The heads of state chancellery could not have come to an agreement during a telephone conference on Saturday afternoon, reports the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung".
In particular, the countries badly affected by the corona pandemic are in favor of a lockdown until January 31.
In the interview with "Bild am Sonntag", Söder sharply criticized the European Commission's procurement of vaccines.
"The EU Commission has probably planned too bureaucratically: too few of the correct ones ordered and price debates that were too long," Söder told the "BamS".
“Whether this was foresighted in view of the epochal threat can now be seen in comparison with other regions of the world,” Söder continues.
Obviously, they ordered too few and relied on the wrong manufacturers.
"It is difficult to explain that a very good vaccine is developed in Germany, but is vaccinated more quickly elsewhere."
He called for significant improvements - approval procedures and production processes had to be accelerated.
If possible, according to Söder's request, vaccine should be manufactured "even under license from other companies in Germany."
Vaccinations by politicians are supposed to create trust
In order to increase the willingness to vaccinate in Germany, politicians and other public figures should be vaccinated as soon as possible.
He worries about the reluctance to vaccinate among the staff in the homes: »We urgently need to point out the vaccination once again and monitor the situation.
Too much fake news still haunts the net. «That is why the leaders of the state have to set a good example.
Söder emphasized that vaccinations are the "only long-term strategy against Corona".
“We cannot narcotize our country indefinitely and finance it only through debt.
That is why vaccination is the better way financially in the long term, ”said Söder.
"The question of how we survive Corona economically is closely related to the question of how quickly we can get through the vaccination."
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