Berlin, March 17 (BNA): The German government on Thursday defended its decision to allow several pandemic restrictions to expire at the end of the week, even as the country reached a new record high for newly confirmed cases, according to the Associated Press.
Germany’s disease control agency has reported 294,931 new cases in the past 24 hours. The Robert Koch Institute said there have been 278 more deaths linked to COVID, bringing the total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic to 126,420.
“We are now entering a new phase of the pandemic where we, like almost all of our neighboring countries, can do without most preventive measures,” Chancellor Olaf Schultz said after a meeting with the 16 state governors.
Experts say mobility data shows that people are increasingly meeting others, facilitating the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, German lawmakers discussed proposals for a general authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for all adults, which Schultz supported.
Opponents of this measure suggested mandatory vaccination only for people over 50 years old, while others rejected the idea altogether.
A final decision on making vaccinations mandatory is not expected for several weeks.
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