With virus 'under control',
Germany begins opening up
20/04/2020 - 05:18
Berlin (AFP)
Germany takes
its first steps back towards normality on Monday, with smaller shops in some
regions opening up for the first time in a month after politicians declared the
coronavirus "under control".
From florists
to fashion stores, the majority of shops smaller than 800 square metres (8,600
square feet) will be allowed to welcome customers again, in a first wave of
relaxations to strict curbs on public life introduced last month.
Chancellor
Angela Merkel and regional state premiers announced the decision to reopen last
week, though they have been careful to cast it as no more than a cautious first
step.
While the
first shops will open their doors on Monday, each of Germany's 16 states is set
to lift the restrictions at a slightly different pace.
In some
states such as the capital Berlin, reopening will take a little longer.
Merkel, who
has been praised for her handling of the coronavirus crisis, is hoping to
reinvigorate the ailing German economy, which officially entered into recession
last week.
- 'Fragile' -
With 139,897 confirmed cases
and 4,294 deaths as of Sunday, Germany has been one of the countries worst hit
by COVID-19, but also one of the quickest to react.
On Friday, the Robert Koch
Institute for public health announced that the rate of infection -- the number
of people each ill person contaminates -- had dropped below one for the first time,
leading Health Minister Jens Spahn to declare the virus "under
control".
Yet Merkel, who was herself
quarantined for two weeks earlier this month before testing negative for the
virus, has warned that Germany's success remains "fragile".
"We will not be able to go
back to our normal lives for a long time," said her conservative party
colleague Armin Laschet, the state premier of North-Rhine Westphalia, the
country's most populous region.
In an interview with Der
Spiegel weekly, Laschet warned that some coronavirus restrictions could last
until 2021.
A ban on gatherings of more
than two people and a requirement to stand more than 1.5 metres apart from
others in public areas remain in force.
That means that hairdressers,
initially deemed an essential business, cannot open until at least May 4.
Cultural venues, bars, leisure
centres and beauty salons will also remain closed for the time being, while
large-scale public events such as concerts and football matches have been
banned until August 31.
But Germans can look forward to
at least some relaxations to the existing shutdown although they have not been
welcomed by everyone.
With larger shops unable to
open, the German Trade Association warned Friday of a possible "distortion
of competition".
Yet Economy Minister Peter
Altmaier defended the 800-square-metre limit, saying that "the belt can
only be loosened bit by bit".
- Schools reopening -
Schools will also be partially
reopened in the coming weeks, with most states set to welcome back older
students from May 4.
Education policy is
traditionally decided at state level in Germany, and Bavaria, the region worst
hit by the virus so far, will keep its schools closed for an extra week.
On April 29, regional education
ministers are set to present concrete plans on how social distancing can still
be enforced in the classroom.
Germany hopes to combine the
lifting of restrictions with a more efficient tracing of the spread of
COVID-19.
The country hopes to ramp up
testing -- it has already tested around two million people -- and aims to
produce around 50 million protective masks, including 10 million of the higher
efficiency FFP2 standard a week from August.
Though not yet obligatory,
Merkel said her government "strongly advises" wearing a mask in
public.
With more movement of the
population expected as shops reopen, eastern states Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and
Saxony have made masks obligatory on public transport.
In doing so, they have followed
the example of the eastern city of Jena, which unilaterally enforced the
wearing of masks earlier this month.
According to German media, the
city has had no new cases in a week.
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