Rebel German State Abandons Social Distancing as Virus Ticks Up

(Bloomberg) -- The eastern German state of Thuringia shelved social-distancing rules ahead of the rest of the country even as nationwide infection rates for the coronavirus inch up.

Mandatory restrictions that had been adopted to help contain the pandemic will be lifted from June 13. Instead, the regional government is merely recommending citizens limit their contacts to one other household or to a maximum of 10 people, according to new rules adopted on Tuesday.

“We are placing greater emphasis on people’s personal responsibility,” Thuringia’s Health Minister Heike Werner said in a statement. “Everyone must do their part to protect against infection. The virus is still there, and it is still dangerous.”

Germany’s 16 states had agreed to maintain obligatory social distancing through the end of the month, even though several of them have eased restrictions in recent weeks.

Thuringia’s Premier Bodo Ramelow last month had already tested Chancellor Angela Merkel’s management of the crisis by floating plans to abandon restrictions from June 5. Ramelow had been criticized by Merkel and other state premiers alike for jumping the gun.

Read more: Merkel Urges States to Stick to Virus Rules as Risks Remain

Germany recorded an increase in the number of new coronavirus cases, and the infection rate climbed further above the key threshold of 1.0, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Thuringia, a predominantly rural state in the former communist east, has a total of 3,100 cases, with 73 infections recorded in the last seven days, according to the Robert Koch Institute.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.