Germany will consider relaxing restrictions next week on shops introduced last month to slow the spread of the coronavirus while keeping social distancing rules in place until May 3, according to a government proposal seen by Reuters.
Chancellor Angela Merkel began discussing the draft during talks with the governors of Germany’s 16 states from 2 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Wednesday to agree whether and how to loosen some of the restrictions given an improvement in the situation.
The proposals include reopening schools gradually starting May 4 with priority given to primary and secondary pupils in final years, while day-care centres will remain shut. Schools must prepare a hygiene plan before they reopen their doors.
Religious gatherings will remain banned and restaurants, bars, cafes, cinemas and music venues will remain shut.
But retailers whose shops are up to 800 sq metres as well hairdressers, zoos, and public libraries will be allowed to open next week under strict social distancing and hygiene rules.
Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Reuters that continued restrictions were needed to contain the risk of infection.
“Across Germany, people clearly understand and fully agree with what needs to be done to protect citizens’ health and to contain the spread of infections,” he said. “This requires restrictions which I can see a lot of people accept, especially when they know that it affects them personally.”
Merkel’s cabinet has already decided to extend border controls to Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg and Denmark by 20 days to early May, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.
The proposals do not include making face masks compulsory in public.
RECESSION
With several EU countries now trying different ways to ease their restrictions, the European Commission is urging member states to coordinate their efforts, warning that failure to do so could result in new spikes in cases.
Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases have risen by 2,486 to 127,584, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said earlier, with a reported death toll of 3,254 people.
Infectious disease experts say that four weeks of keeping schools, factories and shops shut has brought progress but warn that the epidemic is not yet contained and there is a long way to go before normal life resumes in Europe’s biggest economy.
Companies and politicians are also worried about the economic impact of a long shutdown although the government has tried to cushion the blow with a range of measures, including a 750-billion-euro ($822.23 billion) stimulus package.
The Economy Ministry said Germany entered a recession in March and the slowdown is likely to continue until the middle of the year.
“Collapsing global demand, interruption of supply chains, changes in consumer behaviour and uncertainty among investors are having massive impact on Germany,” it said.
It said even if social distancing measures were eased, economic activity would continue to be very subdued and would only pick up gradually.
Some 725,000 companies in Germany had applied for short-time work by April 13, the Labour Office said on Wednesday, a roughly 12% rise from the previous week, said the Labour Office.
Short-time work is a form of state aid that allows employers to switch employees to shorter working hours during an economic downturn to keep them on the payroll. It has been widely used by industry, including Germany’s car sector.