Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel backed down on Wednesday and reversed the 5 day Easter lockdown that she had earlier imposed on the country due to the increasing COVID cases. She went on to call the plan a “mistake”, and said that she took “ultimate responsibility” for the U-turn.
“This mistake is mine alone,” Mrs Merkel told reporters in Berlin. “The whole process has caused additional uncertainty, for which I ask all citizens to forgive me.” “There were good reasons for it but it could not be implemented well enough in this short time,” she added.
Many are commenting that Merkel was losing her touch and asked her to step down after this decision was announced. It is to be noted that only on Tuesday, she had announced about this lockdown. The guidelines of the imposed lockdown stated that almost all shops will be closed over the Easter period from April 1 to 5, and no more than five people over the age of 14 from two households can gather. Grocery stores would be allowed to open for one day only, on Saturday, April 3.
Notably, Germany has recorded more than 74,000 Covid-19 deaths since the pandemic began, and Merkel has said the country is experiencing a third wave of infections.
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