Germany Extends Lockdown Measures Till 18 April Amid Rising COVID-19 Cases

Battling a surge in COVID-19 cases, Chancellor Angela Merkel led Germany has extended its ongoing lockdown measures by another month and imposed several new restrictions, including largely shutting down public life over Easter festivities to curb the spread of infections, reports Hindustan Times.

In an effort towards driving down the rate at which new COVID-19 cases are emerging in the European nation, Chancellor Merkel on Tuesday (23 March) announced strict measures and restrictions which were previously set to run through 28 March. The restrictions will now be in place till 18 April.

This came after Chancellor Merkel held a lengthy virtual meeting with the nation's 16 state Governors, nearly three weeks after the leaders had last agreed on a plan paving the way to relax some rules. However, since then, cases have surged steadily as the more contagious variant first detected in the United Kingdom (UK) has become dominant.

It should also be noted that Germany has been lagging in vaccinating its population against COVID-19, with only about nine per cent of the people receiving the first shot as of Sunday (21 March). Also, only about four per cent of the population has received the second dose.