BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel supports the demands for a short, difficult exclusion in Germany to limit the spread of the coronavirus because infection rates are too high, a German government spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
Germany is struggling to tackle a third wave of the pandemic and several regional leaders have called for a short, sharp lockout as the country tries to vaccinate more people.
“Every call for a short, uniform exclusion is right,” Deputy State Spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer told reporters, adding that Germany sees a growing number of intensive care patients.
“We need a stable prevalence of less than 100,” she said, referring to the number of cases over seven days per 100,000 inhabitants. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases, it is currently 110.1.
She also said the government is looking at whether measures are needed nationwide, rather than regionally.
“The series of regulations does not help to be accepted,” Demmer said. While some states have set a night clock during Easter, others are experimenting with easing restrictions.
Merkel urged local leaders on March 28 to step up efforts to curb rapidly rising coronavirus infections and added a thinly veiled threat that she would otherwise have to consider what steps could be taken nationwide.
One option would be to amend the Infection Control Act to determine what should happen under certain scenarios and what could enable the federal government to enforce a nationwide exclusion without approving the 16 state prime ministers.
Demmer said the government is still investigating this option, but that no final decision has been made yet.
The newspaper Bild reported that conservative lawmakers are currently working on a draft law to give the federal government more powers to get the third wave under control.
The majority of Germany’s federal prime minister was opposed to holding talks on October 12 on what steps to take.
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Germany rose by 9,677 to more than 2.9 million on Wednesday, the Robert Koch Institute said. It warned that the numbers may not yet show the full picture, as not all cases over Easter have been registered. About 77,401 people died.
Reported by Andreas Rinke and Michael Nienaber; Writing Madeline Chambers; Edited by Maria Sheahan, Kirsti Knolle