German Chancellor Angela Merkel leaves the Reichstag building, seat of the German lower house of parliament Bundestag, during a session in Berlin on March 4, 2021.
“Today, we can talk of hope and a transition to a new phase” in the fight against the pandemic, the veteran chancellor told a Berlin press conference.Merkel said the loosening of restrictions, tied to strict conditions, was justified because of the imminent ramp-up in vaccinations and the arrival of mass rapid testing.
From Monday, Germans will be allowed to socialise more, with up to five adults from two households allowed to meet up. Young children will not be counted.Book shops, flower stores and garden centres will reopen nationwide, with hairdressers already having reopened, as well as some schools.Further reopenings in retail and other areas of public life will be allowed in areas with fewer than 50 new infections per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period.
The relaxations will happen gradually and many of the current virus restrictions will stay in place until March 28. To further speed up the inoculations, doctor’s offices will be allowed to start injecting people by early April, alongside the jabs given in designated vaccination centres.All Germans will soon be offered at least one free rapid test a week, Merkel said. Staff at schools and daycares, as well as pupils, will also be tested regularly.
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