Stricter corona measures Merkel appeals to the population again
Berlin · On day one of the partial lockdown, Berlin Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed once again to the population to maintain discipline. The weeks ahead are groundbreaking in terms of how Christmas will turn out.
Day one of the new partial lockdown. A message from the Ministry of Defence: "AKK is going into quarantine as a precautionary measure.“ A contact from the minister's "private environment" tested positive, but she herself tested negative. As a precautionary measure, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (AKK) is placed in quarantine for six days. Angela Merkel is also taking precautions from this day - in her own way. The country slows down, the chancellor gathers momentum. Merkel wants to swear the people in on four weeks of privation. An appearance at the federal press conference.
For Germany to get through the winter well, it needs the joint effort of everyone, Merkel again appealed to the discipline of the people. But at the start of weeks of contact limits, one of Germany's top crisis managers wants to know whether the Chancellor is in good health. And asks: "Do you have a cold?" Merkel: "Me? Nah! I had a cold. A week ago. That's right." But now, freshly tested, everything’s back to normal, Merkel conveys. "The winter will be hard - four long, hard months. But it will end.“ Merkel had prepared the country for a hard Corona winter last week.
And now? Innkeepers, restaurant owners, artists, musicians, theatre workers, cinema operators - the entire event industry is up in arms again because the federal and state governments are shutting down the Republic in parts for four weeks. This Monday, Merkel again emphasised that the decision to close the leisure sector was a political vote. Of course, one could have said, if restrictions were imposed, it has to be for everyone, but that would certainly not have made things any better. "Look, we don't like doing this", she said, once again asking for understanding for the measures now decided.
She doubts whether it would have been better to tell people that nobody has to go to work for four weeks and that restaurants, bars and pubs have opened in return. In terms of the number of contacts, it would have sometimes amounted to the same thing, but then the country would certainly not be able to bear the costs of this pandemic. She will be able to live with the fact that the managers of the political pub "Ständige Vertretung" (StäV) in Berlin, among others, have initially banned her and Vice-Chancellor Olaf Scholz from the restaurant business because of the lockdown. She cannot please everyone. In the meantime, the StäV managers have rowed back. They want to continue to welcome "all politically active people" to the pub.
75 per cent of contacts have to be cut back
But the people should listen carefully to what is at stake now. Decisive weeks are ahead for everybody. This time will also point the way ahead as to how Christmas will turn out. Merkel, the physicist of power, says "127.8" and "50". Currently, there is a nationwide "average incidence" of 127.8 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days. In order for contacts to be tracked by the already overburdened health authorities, this figure would have to be reduced to 50 infected persons per 100,000 inhabitants in one week. This would require a reduction of 75 percent of the existing contacts.
That would be the hoped-for "roadblock" for this second corona wave. As in March, Merkel again speaks of the fact that the country now has to go through a "very, very big test, the likes of which we have not had in Germany since the Second World War". Discipline. "The virus punishes half-heartedness." Corona has the world under control. Germany as well as Europe or the USA. She emphasises the ratio with the facts: "We all save a lot of money if we are reasonable." And hopes that they have all understood.
Original text: Holger Möhle
Translation: Mareike Graepel