Berlin, Nov. 25, (dpa/GNA) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to discuss the nation’s pandemic response with regional leaders on Wednesday, with sweeping closures and restrictions broadly expected to be extended or even tightened.
The country’s 16 state premiers have agreed to propose a prolonged shutdown, lasting until December 20, and set out a plan for some easing over Christmas so that families could meet in limited groups.
A decision on whether to roll out mask-wearing in school classrooms is also expected on Wednesday, as well as on banning fireworks in busy public spaces over New Year, as suggested by the premiers.
Germany closed bars, restaurants and leisure facilities and brought back nationwide contact restrictions at the start of November in response to a surging second wave of infections.
Government sources have said that around 17 billion euros (20.1 billion dollars) would be made available in December to reimburse affected businesses’ lost revenue, on top of the 14 to 15 billion euros set aside for this month.
Under Germany’s federal system, Merkel depends on the state leaders to enact sweeping policies designed to halt the spread of the virus. She has held frequent meetings with them throughout the pandemic to coordinate a nationwide response, with varying degrees of success.
The daily rise in coronavirus infections remains stubbornly high.
On Tuesday, Germany’s Robert Koch Institute for disease control added another 13,554 infections to its confirmed caseload, which now amounts to 942,687 cases in the pandemic so far.
The coronavirus-related death toll increased by 249 to reach 14,361.
GNA