German government weighs “gradual return to normality” after Easter
Germany has exceeded 2,000 deaths this Thursday due to the coronavirus pandemic, which already leaves more than 108,000 infections in the country after adding almost 5,000 more cases in the last 24 hours, according to the latest balance released this Wednesday by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German government agency responsible for monitoring infectious diseases.
In total, there have been 4,974 new infections, almost 1,000 more than the previous day, which places the total number since the outbreak began at 108,202, while 246 more deaths have been recorded, which makes the country already add 2,107 victims deadly. This last data is similar to that of the previous day.
Bavaria remains the worst hit state, with 28,827 cases (1,263 more), and with 635 deaths, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia, with 21,961 infections (1,032 more), and 384 fatalities. Baden Wuertemberg remains in third place, adding 923 new infections and already having 21,693 cases and 519 deaths.
In Berlin, the capital, there are already 4,202 cases, after adding another 174 infections in the last day, while the death toll is 37, five more.
This being the case, around 56 percent of Germans consider that it is too early to relax the restrictions adopted as of April 20, according to a survey by the Civey demoscopic institute published this Thursday by the magazine ‘Business Insider’ and collected by DPA .
In contrast, almost 30 percent of those surveyed considered that a relaxation from April 20 would be appropriate, while only 9.4 percent believed that it should enter into force before that date.
THE GOVERNMENT MAY RAISE SOME RESTRICTIONS
German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to discuss how to proceed with the prime ministers of the federated states on April 15 and 19, the latter date when the current measures expire. In view of the initial successes in containing the coronavirus epidemic in the country, Health Minister Jens Spahn is of the opinion that it may be possible to take cautious measures to get out of confinement after the Easter holidays.
“If this evolution of the contagion figures continues, we will be able to talk to the prime ministers about a gradual return to normality after the Easter holidays,” Spahn said in statements to the newspaper ‘Handelsblatt’.
The government’s crisis cabinet is scheduled to meet this morning to confront the pandemic. In the afternoon, Spahn, the German Family Minister, Franziska Giffey, and the president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Lothar Wieler, will provide information on the current situation of the coronavirus in Germany.
