BERLIN, Germany — Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday
that the German government was looking at relaxing restrictions for people who
are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as the pace of inoculations picks up.
اضافة اعلان
Speaking after talks with the regional premiers of
Germany’s 16 states, Merkel said people who have received both jabs should
“obviously” be allowed to get a haircut or go into a shop without having to
show a negative coronavirus test, and be exempt from quarantining after close
contact with an infected person.
The same would apply to people who can prove they have
recovered from a coronavirus infection, for instance by showing a positive
PCR test that is at least 28 days old.
The government would prepare a decree setting out its
proposals, she told a Berlin press conference, which will then be discussed in
parliament.
The veteran leader did not give a timeframe for when the
relaxations might come into force.
Merkel said the move to give those with COVID immunity
back some of their basic rights comes after the country’s Robert Koch Institute
for infectious diseases recently found that fully vaccinated people and those
who have recovered, “no longer pose a relevant infection danger”.
But she warned that Germany faced a “difficult transition
phase” as a growing number of people get their shots and will be hungry for
more freedoms, while a significant part of the population will still be living
with tough restrictions.
Just seven percent of the population has so far received
both doses of a
COVID vaccine in Germany and around 23 percent have had their
first jab, but the pace of the rollout is accelerating as doctors’ offices
receive more vaccine doses.
Merkel reiterated that she expected Germany would be able
to ditch its strict vaccine priority list in June and allow every adult to seek
a jab.
The hopeful mood comes despite a vicious third
coronavirus wave that has seen German case numbers stabilize at a very high
level.
Germany at the weekend imposed a nationwide “emergency
brake” that includes sweeping shutdowns and school closures in hard-hit regions
to bring down infections.
“Several more weeks of efforts are necessary,” Merkel
told reporters.
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