People walk along a sign remembering to wear the obligatory face mask in downtown Munich on March 4, 2021. (Photo by Alexander Pohl / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Alexander Pohl NurPhoto via Getty Images
LONDON – The head of the German public health agency warned on Friday that a third wave of coronavirus infections had already started.
It comes at a time when the country has gradually begun to loosen restrictions on closure, amid a government-led effort to accelerate its vaccination to as many adults as possible.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has earlier warned that the country could end up in a third wave of infections if public health restrictions are lifted too quickly.
Meanwhile, Italy will allegedly impose another near-national exclusion over Easter weekend in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus.
The move, which is expected to be signed into law on Friday, comes just over a year after it became the first country in the world to impose lock-in measures nationwide.
What’s going on in Germany?
“We have clear signs: the third wave in Germany has already begun,” Lothar Wieler, head of the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases, told reporters during a news conference on Friday.
“The virus is not going to go away, but if we have a basic level of immunity in the population, we can control it,” he added.
Wieler said he was “very concerned” about the public health crisis. He described Germany’s vaccination campaign as a race against a virus that was constantly evolving, but expressed confidence that the country would eventually be able to bring the virus under control.
Until such time, Wieler reaffirmed the importance of people wearing face masks in public and maintaining a safe distance from others.
Chancellor Angela Merkel is attending the 215th session of the Bundestag. Topics include the epidemic situation of national magnitude and the consequences of the closure of the economy.
Kay Nietfeld | picture alliance | Getty Images
The RKI said on Thursday that the number of confirmed Covid cases had increased by 14,356 over a 24-hour period, the highest daily score recorded in Germany in the past two weeks. This reflected an increase of 2,444 cases over the previous week.
The recent boom coincides with the spread of a highly contagious variant of the virus first discovered in the UK. The variant, known as B.1.1.7, has been found to account for more than 46% of new infections nationwide.
To date, more than 2.5 million people have contracted Covid in Germany, with 73,127 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Italy decides to close Easter
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s administration has held talks with regional governments and local authorities to discuss tougher health measures from March 15 to April 6, Italian news agency ANSA reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources.
As part of these measures, Italy is expected to tackle the spread of the virus by placing almost the entire country in its so-called ‘red zone’ from 3 April to 5 April, a period that includes Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
Barcroft Media | Barcroft Media | Getty Images
The red zone is the maximum level of restrictions in the Italian coronavirus system. At this level, schools, non-essential shops, restaurants and bars will be closed.
Sardinia, a large Italian island in the Mediterranean, is currently the only region in the country’s white zone. This decision, announced on March 1, means that many measures designed to limit the spread of the virus have been abandoned in this area.
At the national level, Italy’s total number of Covid infections exceeded 3 million last week, mainly driven by the rapid spread of the B.1.1.7 variant. To date, Italy has recorded 3.1 million Covid cases and 101,184 deaths.