Berlin, Nov. 18 (BNA): Leaders of Germany’s 16 states and Chancellor Angela Merkel are set to hold heated talks on the pandemic on Wednesday as the country’s infection rates rise again.
State premiers are seeking a unified approach to coronavirus rules and restrictions, German news agency dpa reported, amid a patchwork of strategies across the country.
They are expected to discuss issues such as rules on who can access public services, hospital capacity alert thresholds, and how to boost Germany’s current vaccination quota of around 68 percent.
The prime minister of East Saxony, which currently has the highest infection rate nationwide, with a seven-day infection rate of 742.2 per 100,000 people, said on the eve of the talks that stricter restrictions were needed.
“If we’re really going to break this wave, we won’t be able to do it just by addressing the unvaccinated group,” Michael Kretschmer said at an online event.
Neighboring Austria recently began imposing a ban only on unvaccinated individuals in response to rising infection rates.
Ahead of the afternoon conference of federal and state leaders, the German parliament will also meet to discuss the situation, with a vote on anti-Covid-19 proposals put forward by the three political parties to replace Merkel’s outgoing coalition after the September elections.
Thursday’s session in the Bundestag is set to be the first major challenge for potential new coalition partners: the Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business Democratic Action Party.
Among other things, they want to require bus and train passengers to provide proof of vaccination, recovery from Covid-19 or a recent test, and impose stiff penalties of up to five years in prison for forging coronavirus documents and certificates.
MI