German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends debates at the Bundestag following a decision by state governments to extend the current lockdown but also ease certain restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday in Berlin, Germany.
Germany is extending its coronavirus shutdown by three weeks until March 28, but easing some restrictions to allow nonessential stores and other businesses to reopen in areas with relatively low infection rates.
After about nine hours of talks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the governors of the country’s 16 states agreed on Wednesday to measures aimed at balancing concern over the impact of more contagious coronavirus variants with a growing clamor for a return to a more normal life.
The first moves have already been made: many elementary students returned to school last week. And on Monday, hairdressers opened after a two-and-a-half-month break. Current lockdown rules were set to run through Sunday.
On Wednesday, Merkel and the state governors — who in highly decentralized Germany have the power to impose and lift restrictions — set out a phased plan that allows for a gradual, if limited, relaxation of restrictions.
“These should be steps toward opening but at the same time steps that do not set us back,” Merkel said. “There are a great many examples in Europe of a dramatic third wave.”
She pledged that “spring 2021 will be different from spring a year ago.”
Regions where infection rates are relatively low, although not as low as previously envisioned, will be able to open nonessential stores, museums and other facilities on a limited basis.
Most stores have been closed nationwide since December 16. Restaurants, bars, sports and leisure facilities have been closed since November 2 and hotels are allowed only to accommodate business travelers.
When they last conferred on February 10, Merkel and the governors set a target of 35 weekly new cases per 100,000 inhabitants before letting small stores, museums and other businesses reopen. The aim is to enable reliable contact-tracing.
But reaching that target soon appeared increasingly unrealistic as cases of the more contagious variant first detected in Britain increased, with overall infections creeping slightly higher. The cases-per-week number, which peaked at nearly 200 per 100,000 inhabitants just before Christmas, has been stalled above 60 in recent days.
Wednesday’s decisions opened the possibility of reopening more businesses at various stages above the 35 target, though they included an “emergency brake” mechanism that would see the restrictions now in place reimposed if the weekly infection level exceeds 100 per 100,000 residents on three consecutive days.
Regions can open nonessential shops next Monday if weekly infections are below 50 per 100,000 residents, and at least allow people to collect preordered goods and to visit museums and zoos with appointments above that level.
If infections are stable below the 50-mark two weeks later, regions can open theaters, cinemas, outdoor areas of restaurants and allow some indoor sports. After another two weeks, they can allow outdoor events with up to 50 participants and contact sports indoors.