Angela Merkel wants to get the number of new Corona infections down again. More uniformity in regard to Corona rules in Germany’s federal states is another goal of hers.
When Chancellor Merkel meets the First Ministers from all sixteen provinces and city states online on Thursday, she intends to reach two goals. One of those, namely decreasing the number of new infections, was already discussed by Chancellery Minister Helge Braun and the federal states, earlier this week.
Worries About Cold Season
According to ‘Business Insider’, the intention is to get the numbers down to a “medium three-digit level”. For many weeks, 200 to 500 new Corona cases had been reported in Germany. Recently, those numbers rose again, to around 1,500 new cases by day. Returning vacationers are one of the causes, illegal parties might be another aspect here.
Mrs. Merkel’s government is worried about the upcoming fall and winter, when people will be inside buildings a lot more than during the summer. Making sure the country gets through the cold season without a major Corona wave is the goal.
Back to Uniformity
Another intention the Chancellor has is to get back to uniformity. In June, the First Ministers of all states, from Baden-Württemberg all the way up to Schleswig-Holstein, got their way and implemented their own Corona rules. For instance the maximum number of participants of indoor events is 50 in some stages, and 150 or even more in others.
Some First Ministers, such as Bavaria’s Markus Söder, and the Chancellor herself believe that having uniform and rules would make sure people are less confused when they travel to other states. On the other hand there are First Ministers in some eastern German provinces who insist on having their own rules. They say the conditions are different in every federal state.
Need for Stricter Measures
Early on in the Corona crisis, Angela Merkel and the heads of government from the sixteen states had held online conferences on a more regular basis, during which they took decisions on Corona measures. The latter included the semi-lockdown in March and April.
Now Chancellor Merkel sees the need for stricter measures in fall, because of the development regarding new infections. It is not known how strict exactly she wants the rules to be, or when any new measures might be implemented.
This morning, the total number of Corona cases in Germany, since the Crisis started in January, was 239,010. Twenty-four hours earlier, it had been 237,583 or roughly 1,400 less. Merkel wants to slash that kind of number by two thirds, which could turn out to be quite challenge.
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