Insta
Coronavirus Pandemic: Merkel Announces Easing Of Covid-19 Restrictions In Germany
IANS
May 07, 2020, 10:01 AM | Updated 10:01 AM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that COVID-19 restrictions in the country would be eased while minimum social distance and hygiene rules would continue to apply.
"I think we can say that we have passed the first phase of the pandemic," Merkel said on Wednesday (6 May) after a telephone conference with minister-presidents of federal states.
The Chancellor said that the current figures released by Germany's disease control agency RKI were "very pleasing" and German citizens had "lived responsibly and thus saved the lives of other people", reports Xinhua news agency.
Merkel confirmed an "emergency mechanism" which would be triggered if more than 50 new infections over seven days per 100,000 inhabitants were locally detected in a certain region.
If such rates were measured, the affected federal states would be required to reintroduce stricter measures, although states would be allowed to decide how exactly the measures would look like.
A minimum distance of 1.5 metres and obligatory face masks in certain places such as public transport would continue to exist, and the contact restrictions in Germany would remain in force until 5 June.
However, the contact restriction on people within the same household was eased.
People from two households, such as two families, two couples or members of shared flats, were now allowed to meet each other.
In addition, emergency care in German schools and day-care centres were to be expanded "because children rightly want to return to their normal lives", said Merkel, stressing that the process was ongoing.
A complete visitation ban in nursing homes for older people was also lifted.
Now a permanent contact person was again permitted to visit relatives in such institutions.
Bavaria on Tuesday announced its schedule for a gradual reopening, ahead of the telephone conference between Merkel and federal state leaders.
The state government of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania also announced plans to lift restrictions on Tuesday.
On Monday, Lower Saxony became the first German state to present a step-by-step plan to ease restrictions.
So far, Germany has reported 168,162 COVID-19 cases, with 7,275 deaths.
This news has been published via Syndicate feed. Only the headline has been changed.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.