Berlin, July 22, (dpa/GNA) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on the population to step up vaccination efforts in view of rising infection figures.
“The more who are vaccinated, the freer we will be again,” she said in Berlin on Thursday.
Only together could the pandemic be overcome, she added, so therefore people should also actively promote vaccinations in their private environment and at work.
Merkel described the current doubling of the incidence figures every 12 days as dramatic. It is necessary to pay more attention to protective measures: Masks, distance, ventilation and regular testing, she said.
Higher vaccination rates meanwhile make it possible to deal with higher infection numbers.
“Preventing the health system from being overburdened remains the guiding principle of our actions,” said Merkel, who took questions from journalists in Berlin.
Merkel held out the prospect of bringing forward her next meeting with the heads of the 16 federal states to discuss the coronavirus pandemic.
She spoke of a dynamic situation. The meeting is currently scheduled for the end of August. Merkel said the issue could also be discussed at a meeting of state premiers on disaster relief, which is due to take place much earlier than the end of August.
Merkel plans not to run again in the Bundestag elections in September and to retire from politics after them.
GNA