Merkel, German states consider tougher COVID-19 measures
CGTN
A restaurant is in lockdown in Dusseldorf, November 15, 2020. /CFP

A restaurant is in lockdown in Dusseldorf, November 15, 2020. /CFP

Germany's federal government and states are considering new COVID-19 measures to halt the rise of infections, such as dramatically reducing the number of people at household gatherings and compulsory mask wearing for school students.

A draft document of the measures also said people would be urged to abstain from private parties completely until Christmas.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of Germany's 16 states are expected to meet on Monday.

Germany this month imposed a set of measures dubbed a "lockdown light" to rein in the second wave of the pandemic that the country is seeing in common with much of the rest of Europe. While bars and restaurants are closed, schools and shops so far remain open.

As a result, numbers of new infections are no longer growing exponentially, but a decrease of infection numbers is not yet foreseeable, according to the document.

"Further efforts are needed (...) We have four difficult winter months ahead of us before hopefully seasonal effects and the start of vaccinations will allow us to gradually overcome the pandemic," the document said.

Health personnel and an employee of the German airline Lufthansa pose in front of the new Lufthansa coronavirus test center at the Franz-Josef-Strauss airport in Munich, November 12, 2020. /CFP

Health personnel and an employee of the German airline Lufthansa pose in front of the new Lufthansa coronavirus test center at the Franz-Josef-Strauss airport in Munich, November 12, 2020. /CFP

According to the proposals, which could still change pending the discussion between the federal and regional governments, private gatherings in public will only be possible of people from one household with two people from another household, compared to a maximum of 10 people from two households now.

Schools will see all students wearing masks, compared to some exceptions for elementary schools currently. All classes will be halved to allow more space between individual students.

All people considered vulnerable will be eligible once a week for one heavy duty respiratory mask, also known as FFP2.

On November 23, Merkel and the regional state heads will meet again and possibly decide further measures, taking into account the development of infection numbers by then.

Since the beginning of the pandemic 520,000 COVID-19 cases had been detected in Germany by the end of October, but numbers spiked by 50 percent to 780,000 cases in the first two weeks of November.

During the same period, the number of COVID-19-intensive care patients in German hospitals increased by 70 percent, leading to regional bottlenecks.

Over the weekend, a slew of German policymakers warned against easing of current measures and warned of tough times ahead.

Source(s): Reuters