Germany is extending its current national blockade until mid-February and introducing new tougher measures as the death toll in the country continues to rise.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and her 16 prime ministers agreed on Tuesday night to extend the blockade, which began in December after an eight-hour marathon discussion. Stricter mask requirements – including the use of FFP2 / N95 masks in public transport and in stores – have become mandatory across the country. The reinforced measures came after the German government was warned of the danger of new variants of the virus.
A critical point in the discussions was on the subject of schools. Ultimately, the authorities have decided that they will remain closed, but in the end, it is up to the federal states to determine this.
CNN affiliate n-tv spoke to the German public about changes in Covid-19 restrictions, with a woman telling the local television channel that she expected the impact of the current blockade to be evident now.
“The blockade should have already had some effects, but we are not seeing that,” she said.
Another man supported the government’s measures, saying: “They are elected and will know what is best for the population”.
The changes come as the latest coronavirus numbers are released by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German national agency for disease control and prevention, on Wednesday morning.
An additional 1,148 deaths were recorded, bringing the total number of people who died from the disease to 48,770 – the second biggest daily jump since January 14, when the death toll reached 1,244.
Another 15,974 new cases of Covid-19 have also been reported, bringing the total number in the country to 2,068,002, according to the RKI.
When it comes to vaccines, RKI said that 1,195,543 people have been inoculated so far, with 1,195,543 people receiving the first dose and 24,741 people receiving the second dose.