Merkel: Stricter December shutdown necessary to protect health system

Berlin (dpa) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her and state premiers’ decision to extend a partial shutdown into December, stressing that the restrictions had protected the nation’s health system so far in the coronavirus pandemic.

Merkel told lawmakers that people had reduced their contacts by 40 per cent in light of the measures, which limit group meetings to two households, while bars, restaurants and leisure facilities have been forced to close.

Germany has so far avoided putting serious stress on health facilities, Merkel noted, adding, “This is an initial success but it is not yet a lasting success.”

The chancellor said that the “urgently needed reversal of the trend” had not yet been achieved and that coronavirus infection rates had stagnated at a high level.