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Merkel and the governors agreed that states will be able to gradually open schools provided there are hygiene measures in place to curb the spread of the virus. However, the country's strained medical personnel have demanded that the lockdown be extended in its current strict form.
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In Germany, state governments have extensive powers - including authority over education. Several governors have argued for reopening kindergartens and elementary schools first, to relieve parents of the burden of home schooling and make sure that underprivileged children don't fall too far behind.
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The reopening of schools has been a major point of contention between the federal and state governments. “We can be very satisfied,” said Merkel, expressing thanks to those who had helped drive down numbers by respecting lockdown rules and refraining from travel and unnecessary contacts.īut she warned that the new virus variants posed the risk of a “third wave” that could only be prevented if authorities were able to once again track and trace all new cases. Merkel noted that the infection rate had dropped from 110 in just over two weeks and added that the government’s key target was “in sight.” It peaked at nearly 200 just before Christmas. The government’s goal is to push the number below 50 to enable reliable contact-tracing. The weekly number of new infections has dropped to 68 per 100,000 inhabitants.