Merkel Falls Short in Push to Stem Germany’s Stubborn Outbreak
Merkel Limits House Guests to Stem Germany’s Stubborn Outbreak
(Bloomberg) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel urged people to limit public and private gatherings, while pushing decisions on a road map for the coming months to next week as Germany struggles to stem the coronavirus spread.
After more than five hours of tense talks with the country’s 16 state premiers, Merkel failed to push through a range of tougher restrictions. She had proposed requiring face masks for all school students and limiting playmates to one other kid, but came up empty after state leaders balked.
“We need to see how things develop,” Merkel said on Monday. “That’s why we can’t say today with total certainty what will be necessary next week.”
The dispute shows the fine line Merkel is treading in trying to slow the pandemic without stoking social, political and economic tensions. The chancellor will meet again with state premiers on Nov. 25 -- days before current restrictions are due to end -- and lay out a plan looking ahead to 2021.
For the time being, Merkel recommended that Germans refrain from all unnecessary social contact, including get-togethers at home and in public spaces. More measures could be coming and may be extended into December and beyond, which could threaten Christmas shopping and increase government spending to prop up affected businesses.
Two weeks into a partial shutdown -- which closed bars and restaurants but kept schools and most shops open -- Germany’s contagion rates are still more than double the level authorities have determined to be manageable. Even with tentative signs that the wave is cresting in Europe, the outbreak is still worse than the initial phase.
“We should not make the mistake of developing a false sense of security,” said Markus Soeder, the leader of Bavaria and a leading contender to succeed Merkel after next year’s elections. “The coronavirus has punished everyone who believed it was already over.”
With consumers and businesses unsettled, Europe’s largest economy could stagnate or even shrink in the final three months of the year, the Bundesbank said on Monday. While current curbs are less stringent than a national lockdown in the spring, Germany’s exports are suffering from a resurgence of the virus across major industrial countries.
After declining significantly through July, the number of coronavirus cases began ticking up again across Europe in early August, spread by travelers returning from vacation and slack adherence to distancing and hygiene rules. While Germany has far fewer cases and deaths than countries like the U.K., France and Italy, Merkel’s government has warned that a surge in patients could overload the health system.
“We haven’t yet achieved a turning point, but we have managed to break the dynamic of new infections,” Merkel said. “Contact restrictions are the recipe for success. We need to cut back even more in order to achieve our goals.”
Aside from advising people to avoid close proximity, Germany will provide people over 65 and at-risk individuals 15 FFP2 face masks to give them extra protection during the winter.
Amid news of promising vaccine trials, the government is also preparing for a widespread rollout and plans to get immunization centers ready to operate at short notice.
“Today, we had another very successful, very good piece of news about a second vaccine,” said Merkel. Germany may need to distribute the medication “very soon.”
Germany’s strategy to contain the virus has been less severe than in countries like Austria, where the government will shut schools, most stores, and services such as hairdressers starting Tuesday.
But pressure is rising. Infections in Germany have surged about 50% since the end of October, and the number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care has shot up 70%.
“The good news is that we’ve stopped the exponential spread,” Merkel said. “That pleases us all.”
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.