(Bloomberg) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel is proposing a broad extension of Germany's lockdown measures until March 28 while allowing a partial easing of some restrictions, according to draft proposals seen by Bloomberg.
Merkel and the premiers of Germany's 16 states will hold talks on Wednesday to discuss the next steps in the country's efforts to combat the pandemic. Measures like shuttering non-essential stores, gyms and restaurants will be prolonged, while restrictions on private meetings between households will be eased, the chancellery's draft paper from late Monday showed.
The German leader has come under growing pressure to lay out a path to lifting the country's lockdown. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz and Economy Minister Peter Altmaier were the latest senior officials to call for a quicker reopening of Europe's largest economy. Both have backed proposals to move away from a reliance on using the seven-day incidence rate to manage Germany's pandemic and focus on ramping up testing.
Meanwhile, state leaders, who have broad powers under Germany's federal system, have divergent positions, setting up another round of tense talks.
© BloombergStubborn Outbreak
Merkel opened the door to a shift away from a focus on new infections, saying last week that testing could create a "buffer" to allow for opening above her target of 35 new cases per 100,000 people over seven days. The incidence rate edged down to 65.4 on Tuesday but has been stuck around that level for about two weeks, according to the RKI public health institute.
The government now wants to assess how a ramp-up in testing can allow easing steps even if the incidence rate is above 35, according to the draft paper.
Germany's Lockdown Strategy
Highlights of the chancellery's proposal to ease pandemic restrictions: Closure of most non-essential shops, gyms, hotels and restaurants to be extended until March 28Rules on private gatherings to be relaxed from March 8:Two households allowed to meet with a maximum of five people, not counting children 14 years and youngerSecond opening stage after hairdressers resumed on March 1:Book stores as well as flower and gardening shops to be allowed to reopen with strict hygiene rules and entry for one customer per 20 square metersDriving and flying schools allowed to reopen if customers can show a test result from the same dayThird opening stage:Shops, museums, galleries and zoos can reopen and outdoor sport in small groups allowed in regions with a steady incidence rate of less than 35Fourth opening stage:Outdoor restaurants, theaters, concert halls and cinemas can reopen and sport activities can resume if incidence rate stays below 35 for another 14 days |
From March 8, officials also want to allow private gatherings of two households with a maximum of five people, the proposals show. Book stores as well as flower and gardening shops would also be allowed to reopen if they adhere to strict hygiene and distancing rules.
Non-essential shops could resume business on a regional basis once the incidence rate falls below 35 new cases and stays there.
Tobias Hans, premier of the western state of Saarland and a member of Merkel's Christian Democratic party, warned Tuesday that Germany is already in a "third wave" of the pandemic and said the lockdown should remain "restrictive."
"Because the vaccination curve is rising so slowly, we also have to keep the curve of new infections flat," Hans told Spiegel magazine.
(Updates with details from draft paper, adds chart)
For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.