Chancellor Merkel addressed reporters alongside Health Minister Jens Spahn
BERLIN, March 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that up to 70% of the country’s population – some 58 million people – could contract the coronavirus.
Merkel made the stark prediction at a news conference on Wednesday alongside Health Minister Jens Spahn.
She said since there was no known cure, the focus would fall on slowing the spread of the virus. “It’s about winning time,” she explained.
Her remarks came as Italy entered its second day of a national lockdown.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the closure of schools, gyms, museums, nightclubs and other venues across the country, which on Wednesday passed 10,000 confirmed infections.
China – where the virus was first detected – has seen a total of 80,754 confirmed cases and 3,136 deaths. But it recorded its lowest number of new infections, just 19, on Tuesday.
Germany confirmed its third coronavirus-related death on Wednesday, in the badly affected district of Heinsberg in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The first fatality was an 89-year-old woman who died in the town of Essen, the second a 78-year-old man with pre-existing health conditions who died in Heinsberg.
Germany has so far reported 1,296 cases of the virus, according to figures released by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control late on Tuesday. Lothar Wieler, the president of the RKI, said the body did not believe there was a significant number of undetected cases in the country.
Speaking alongside Wieler at a press conference – her first public address on the outbreak – Merkel warned that border closures would not be enough to prevent the spread of the virus. She ruled out following Austria’s lead in banning visitors from Italy.
“This is a test for our solidarity, our common sense and care for each other. And I hope we pass the test,” she said.
Merkel also said she was open to scrapping Germany’s “black zero” rule to allow new government borrowing. She said it was “an extraordinary situation” and that ending the outbreak came first.
Wednesday also saw Berlin city authorities ban all events with more than 1,000 participants until the end of the Easter holidays.
“The coronavirus continues to spread. In such a phase, public life must be restricted,” said the city’s Health Minister, Dilek Kalayci. “The spread of the coronavirus can be slowed down by reducing major events. At the beginning of an epidemic, such a restriction is important.” — NNN-AGENCIES
