Press conference on the pandemic: Merkel: Germany in a very difficult phase

Pandemic press conference
Merkel: Germany is in a very difficult phase

Chancellor Merkel is pleased about the slightly falling number of infections and the lower number of corona patients in the intensive care units. However, it also warns of the dangers of more contagious virus variants.

Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the tough measures in the fight against the corona pandemic as necessary. "We act out of precaution for our country," she said at a press conference in Berlin. Everything serves the goal of "getting the pandemic under control this year and finally overcoming it". Germany is in a "very difficult phase" of the pandemic.

Merkel was pleased about the slightly falling number of infections and the lower number of corona patients in the intensive care units. It is "very encouraging" that the current situation is beginning to ease. The hard cuts are beginning to pay off. "It's worth the effort." The Chancellor emphasized that she knew that this virus was an "imposition for us all".

At the same time, she warned again of the dangers of coronavirus variants, which are particularly rampant in Great Britain. The findings so far indicated that these are many times more contagious. In Germany, these variants are not yet dominant, but the risk must be taken "very seriously". There is still time to prevent this danger.

Merkel said that every citizen in Germany could be offered a vaccination by the end of summer. She made it clear that the end of summer falls on the calendar on September 21st.

In the event of possible openings after the current tough corona lockdown, Merkel sees priority for daycare centers and schools. Not everything can be opened on February 15, so priorities have to be set. First, daycare centers and schools would have to be reopened.

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