BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany is set to extend a lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic into its fifth month, as per the draft proposal after noticed exceeded in infection rates the level to which authorities say hospitals will be overstretched.
At their last meeting early this month, the leaders agreed on a cautious opening, overriding the objections of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who stated more infectious variants had made the pandemic hard to control.
The Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases stated the number of cases per 100,000 population over a week stood at 103.9 on Sunday, above the 100 thresholds at which intensive care units will begin running out of capacity.
The draft says lockdown should continue till April 18 and that an “emergency brake” agreed at the last meeting will be applied to halt any further cautious opening measures in areas that exceed 100 per 100,000.
An earlier proposal, circulated by the Social Democrats, junior partners in Merkel’s coalition, that all returning travelers would face quarantine, even if they’d not been in a coronavirus risk zone, was in brackets in the latest draft, meaning it’s still under discussion.
The proposal also mentioned possible evening curfews for areas with high case numbers, although an precise curfew time was not mentioned.
The variety of confirmed novel coronavirus instances in Germany has elevated by 13,733 to 2,659,516, the Robert Koch Institute stated on Sunday, and the reported demise toll has risen by 99 to 74,664.
The latest draft would also tighten obligations on companies: those who have been unable to offer their staff the option of working from home must provide them with one COVID-19 test every week, or two if adequate supplies were available.
