As leaders in Germany’s 16 states take on more responsibility for monitoring the coronavirus and loosening restrictions, Chancellor Angela Merkel said it is more important than ever to have a coordinated response.
“I very much agree that everyone should work within their own areas of responsibility,” Merkel said during a press conference on Wednesday. “This also means, however, that it is important to me as the chancellor and to the entire federal government that we have a consensus on fundamental issues.”
With her signature caution, Merkel also praised the fall in the number of COVID-19 cases, but emphasized that the virus “hasn’t gone away.”
“We’re still living at the beginning of the pandemic,” Merkel said. “We have gained better control, but the virus is still there.”
The chancellor’s remarks came on the heels of a meeting with the leaders of Germany’s eastern states, some of whom have been pushing to further relax COVID-19 restrictions.
Merkel emphasized that the current rule of keeping a minimum of 1.5 meters (nearly 5 feet) distance between people should continue to be a requirement.
“I think that the minimum distance is an obligation,” the chancellor emphasized. Doing away with the minimum distance requirement could very quickly turn into a situation where people with weaker immune systems “don’t dare to take to the streets at all.”
Meanwhile the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 353 to 179,717, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Thursday.
The reported death toll rose by 62 to 8,411, the tally showed.
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