Merkel warns coronavirus situation to get more difficult over winter

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday the coronavirus pandemic was likely to worsen in coming months, and that her government would respond by prioritising the welfare of society as a whole, notably its children, and the economy.

The government will be “doing everything so that our children are not the losers of the pandemic. School and daycare need to be the most important things,” she told reporters at a news conference.

The government would also seek to keep the economy going, or to restart it where it was still stunted by the pandemic, and to preserve jobs.

The third priority would be a spirit of social solidarity as the pandemic hits some people, such as elderly or low-income families, harder than others.

Germany has managed to keep COVID-19 cases and deaths relatively low compared with some other large European countries. But the number of new daily infections has been rising since early July and has accelerated in recent weeks.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 1,571 to 239,507, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Friday.

The reported death toll rose by three to 9,288, the tally showed. 

Germany has banned large gatherings until the end of this year, amid rising coronavirus cases in Europe.

The chancellor, Angela Merkel, has set out a new package of measures in discussions with leaders of federal states. It comes amid a worrying rise of infection rates in Germany not seen since April, and a similar uptick in Italy and France.

Under the new rules, German football fans will not be allowed back into stadiums until 2021, later than had been hoped. Regulations on mask-wearing will also be toughened. Mass gatherings including festivals, concerts and big sporting events will remain prohibited.

The draft text allows for exceptions in regions with low virus numbers and where participants are all locals. But it goes against a suggestion by Germany’s interior minister, Horst Seehofer, that Bundesliga football games might resume in October with socially distanced spectators.