German Lockdown 2021 – The Chancellor of Germany clamps down and announced new lockdown restrictions on Tuesday that will begin after Christmas to slow the spread of the new omicron variant, rules that will fall short of a full lockdown but will include contact restrictions even for vaccinated people.
“I can understand anyone who doesn’t want to hear about the coronavirus, mutations and new virus variants,” … “But we cannot and must not turn a blind eye to this next wave.” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a press conference on Tuesday evening.
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Scholz said the government decided to wait until after Christmas to implement new national restrictions because family-focused holidays such as Christmas and Easter “have not proven to be major drivers of the pandemic.” But he said restrictions on New Year’s celebrations are necessary to keep Germany’s health system from being overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases.
German Lockdown 2021
Although the German Chancellor is refraining from using the word lockdown, It is in fact a soft lockdown. Among the new rules, people are limited to private gatherings of up to 10 people, nightclubs are closed nationwide and having large events like football matches will be held behind closed doors. The restrictions will go into effect nationwide from 28 December, although states can implement the measures sooner.
“This is no longer the time for parties and social evenings in big groups,” Scholz said.
Scholz and Germany’s 16 state governors agreed on the new restrictions at a meeting on Tuesday, after the government’s new panel of experts called for action to be taken within days nationwide because the omicron variant is racing across Europe.
The Chancellor of Germany is trying to make an impression
Scholz and the state governors will meet again on 7 January to discuss whether the measures should be continued or even tightened.
Hours before the meeting, the national disease control centre called on Twitter for “maximum contact restrictions” starting immediately and lasting until mid-January, and for Germans to reduce their holiday travel “to the absolutely necessary.”
Scholz said the Chancellor of Germany announced a government pledge to speed up its booster vaccine campaign, aiming to give out an additional 30 million shots by the end of January by keeping some vaccination centres open over the holidays.
“Vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate remains our goal,” Scholz said. “The coronavirus doesn’t take a Christmas break.”
But authorities remain dissatisfied that only 70.4% of Germany’s population has been fully vaccinated and 32.6% have received boosters.
Germany’s infection rate is, for now, drifting downward slowly. On Tuesday, the disease control centre recorded 306.4 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days, down from 375 a week earlier, with 23,428 new daily cases.
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