The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has reversed this Wednesday the decision of the “stoppage” of public life and economic activity at Easter and has assured that the decision, although she had good intention, was exclusively her mistake.
“This error is mine alone,” said the Chancellor, who has apologized in the first person to the public – despite the fact that the decision was made jointly between the central government and the 16 regional executives – for having contributed to the uncertainty in the pandemic . “I apologize to the citizens,” he said.
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The decision of this “stop” between Holy Thursday and Easter Monday, which prohibited public gatherings and forced the closure of almost all trade, had aroused strong criticism in the country where the incidence, cases and occupation of the ucis They have been on the rise for several weeks.
Merkel has pointed out that “the idea had the best intention” with the aim of containing the third wave of the pandemic, but that it raised legal and enforcement problems. The chancellor has nevertheless been convinced that the country will defeat the virus, that “the virus will slowly but surely lose all its horror”, but has warned that the road is “hard and long.”
Merkel and the heads of government of the 16 federal states agreed to withdraw this measure in an emergency videoconference this morning, less than two days after agreeing to it at dawn from Monday to Tuesday in a meeting, plagued by differences, of more than 11 hours.
In this virtual meeting, it was also decided to undo the first step of the de-escalation, given on March 8, by which the retail trade, museums and sports centers were reopened, with limitations. The schools, on the other hand, are still operating, although with serious restrictions.
Germany surpassed 75,000 deaths from COVID on Wednesday by adding 248 deaths in the previous 24 hours, in addition to 15,813 new infections. The incidence in the last seven days stands at 108.1 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, while a week ago it was 86.2.
The country accumulates 2,690,523 positives – of which about 2,445,300 are recorded as recovered – and the number of active cases stands at about 170,000.
In the intensive care units, 3,171 patients with COVID-19 were admitted on Tuesday, of which 54 need assisted respiration.
In Germany, 3,416,612 people have received the two doses of the vaccine, 4.1% of the population, and 7,698,450 (9.3%), at least one.
