"I would have liked to get along without an emergency brake," said the Chancellor on Friday after the vaccination summit in Berlin.

Because of the rising infection rates, tighter restrictions have already been hinted at. Hamburg already pulled the "emergency brake" on Friday and is rolling back some of its easing of restrictions which had only been made possible at the beginning of last week.

Shortly before the next discussions take place this Monday with Chancellor Merkel and the state premiers, Baden-Württemberg also announced it would be tightening up measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) said, "We are in the third wave of the pandemic, the numbers are rising, the proportion of virus-variants is large." The dramatic developments cannot be stopped by vaccination alone, he said.

"All the scenarios we see at the moment amount to intensive care units filling up again very significantly," Spahn said. The rising infection rates could mean that there might not be any further easing of measures, but that "even steps backwards" would be necessary. Robert Koch Institute (RKI) Vice President Lars Schaade said, "The infection situation is gaining momentum." A worsening of the situation around Easter, comparable to the period before Christmas, is quite possible, he said. The increase in case numbers is real and cannot be explained by an increase in rapid testing, he added.

Nationwide, the number of new infections reported per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days has now risen to 96, the RKI announced Friday - on Thursday, that seven-day incidence rate had been 90. However, there are still strong regional differences - from a current 56 in Saarland to 187 in Thuringia. SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach spoke of the beginning of a "fulminant third wave" and urged: "You can twist and turn it however you want, we have to go back into lockdown." The sooner one reacts, the shorter time period it will take to get back to a manageable number of cases, he said.

Hamburg's Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) said, "I fear that the situation will continue to deteriorate. We are in a strong third wave." Starting this Saturday, the “emergency brake” will be pulled and the rules from before March 8 will apply again. Private contacts must be limited to one person outside the household. Children up to 14 years of age are not to be included in that number this time. The "emergency brake" provides for rolling back on previous easing of restrictions if the seven-day incidence rate in a region or country rises above 100 for three consecutive days.

Baden-Württemberg's State Premier Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) said in advance of the renewed federal-state consultations: "You have to expect that some things will be taken back and tightened up." Because of the many instances of contagion in daycare centers and schools, he added, "we may also have to change something there." Thuringia's State Premier Bodo Ramelow (Left Party) told dpa: "Without contact tracing and without testing, I'm not for easing of restrictions, I'm not for anything.”

Schools should be kept open as long as possible, depending on what the state education ministers decide. At the same time, teachers in person-to-person classes should be given priority for vaccination. This was published on Friday in a resolution agreed upon by education ministers (KMK). For children and young people, school attendance is of crucial importance for their continuing education, said KMK President Britta Ernst (SPD) from Brandenburg. Since February, classes have been back in session at most elementary schools in Germany. Recently, older grades had returned to school in some states, at least on a rotating basis. Regionally, however, there are schools which have already been closed due to the high number of Covid-19 cases.

(Orig. text: German Press Agency / Translation: ck)