Merkel offers a step-by-step plan to exit the lockdown

Merkel offers a step-by-step plan to exit the lockdown

Chancellor Angela Merkel, along with the heads of government of the sixteen German states, decided to extend the lockdown until March 28. However, starting next week, the easing will be implemented step by step.

There is great pressure in German society to stop strict Corona measures, but this is not yet possible, according to Merkel. But late at a news conference on Wednesday evening, it announced a plan to ease the measures in five steps if pollution numbers drop.

Starting Monday, the stricter communication restrictions will be relaxed somewhat and internal meetings with people from another family will be allowed for a maximum of five people. Earlier it had been decided that hairdressers could return to work and reopen schools.

In areas where the number of infections has fallen below 100 per 100,000 inhabitants, museums and zoos may open their doors again to visitors who booked a period of time in advance. Sports outside the door is also permitted for a maximum of 2 people and in groups for children up to 14 years old.

If the situation does not deteriorate for two weeks after that, restaurants and cafes may receive guests again outside and the opening hours of cinemas, theaters and music may be limited.

Mitigation should be possible by increasing the vaccination rate and making more tests available. For example, Germans can now get a free express test every week and doctors will also give injections. If the number of infections again exceeds 100 per 100,000 inhabitants, then mitigation will not take place.

The consultations between Merkel and the state’s 16 prime ministers took much longer than planned because they had a hard time agreeing terms on easing, according to a recent poll, only 26 percent of Germans support the current Corona policy.

The Cabinet extends the ban on flights until April 1

The ban on flights to South America, the United Kingdom, and South Africa has been extended until April 1. In this way, the government wants to prevent the spread of coronavirus mutations, writes Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen (Infrastructure and Water Department, VVD). For the House of Representatives.

Extending the ban on passenger flights from said areas is advice from the Outbreak Management Team (OMT). The British, South African and Brazilian variants of the Coronavirus appear to be more contagious than the original virus.

“Given the limited presence of the P.1 variant from Brazil in the Netherlands, continued ban in South and Central America is sufficient,” the OMT team advises. “In light of the limited but increasing prevalence of the South African variant in the Netherlands, it is not necessary to extend the flight ban to a greater part of Africa. Given the wide distribution of the UK variant, an extension of the flight ban aimed at limiting imports of this alternative is also not appropriate.

The flight ban to Cape Verde will be lifted, as it cannot be proven with data.

Welcome to the new blog

In this blog likes Norwegian Refugee Council The latest developments regarding the Corona pandemic at home and abroad. The most important news on Wednesday in a row:

• SCPA year after the Coronavirus crisis, many Dutch still enjoy a high quality of life, but the well-being of vulnerable groups such as youth, people of immigrant background, people with low educational levels and the self-employed has been rejected.
• Brazil It reported a record 1641 deaths in Corona on Tuesday. The country is facing a new virus boom. On Tuesday, 59,925 people tested positive.
• at teststraat From the GGD in Bovenkarspel (North Holland) on Wednesday morning, just before 7 am. explosive material Explodes. No one was injured in this process. The police later stated that it was “self-made.”
• Everywhere in the Netherlands The highest possible risk level again applies to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. All regions have the situation again ‘Very serious.’
• The number of infections detected with the Corona virus is with 5090 increase. This is 1,081 more positive tests than reported on Tuesday.
• at Slovakia A government crisis erupted over the purchase of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovi has ordered a total of 2 million doses to be purchased without consulting members of his coalition.