Sunday December 27, 2020
"Seriousness of the situation underestimated"
Seehofer blames country heads for deaths
In October, Germany will go into a lockdown light. However, the infection process does not calm down, in retrospect it is clear: the measures were inadequate. Federal Interior Minister Seehofer chalked this up to some of the state ministers' presidents.
Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer has made the state premiers jointly responsible for the high number of new corona infections and deaths in Germany. "The measures taken from October onwards were inadequate," said Seehofer of "Bild am Sonntag". At the then decisive conferences between the Prime Minister and Chancellor Angela Merkel, some participants "simply underestimated the seriousness of the situation". "Incidentally, the Chancellor was not one of them," emphasized Seehofer.
He also criticized the fact that a protection concept for schools and public transport is still missing. "You can only get the spread of a highly infectious and potentially fatal virus under control with rigorous countermeasures and not with the handbrake on," warned the interior minister. So far there are "no satisfactory solutions".
Seehofer has announced stricter controls for cross-border travel in the coming weeks. The protective measures in force in Germany should "not be undermined by unreasonable trips," said the interior minister. "The ten-day quarantine and testing for travelers returning from risk areas abroad must be consistently monitored." For the Federal Police, monitoring them should therefore have "top priority" in the first few weeks of the new year.
Extend current restrictions
Seehofer also spoke out in favor of extending the current restrictions beyond January 10th. This also applies if there are fewer new infections in the coming days. "If the lockdown works and the numbers go down, then we must not risk everything we have achieved with quick easing. Otherwise it will start all over again," said the interior minister.
If the numbers do not decrease, however, additional efforts are even required. "If the lockdown does not have a sufficient effect, the measures must be tightened," demanded Seehofer. A third wave must be prevented "under all circumstances".
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