Cases of coronavirus infections accelerated just 4 days after Germany released its lockdown restrictions, raising concerns about situation going out of hand once again.
Under pressure from leaders of 16 federal states, Angela Merkel, the country’s chancellor eased the lockdown restrictions on Wednesday, thereby restarting social life and helping the economy to recover. She had also announced an “emergency brake” to allow for the re-imposition of restrictions if infections pick up again.
The move to ease restrictions has come under severe criticism with several experts warning that the virus could start spreading again. Karl Lauterbach, a Social Democrat lawmaker and professor of epidemiology, said in a tweet that the R rate (reproduction rate) is expected to go over 1 and that Germany might return to exponential growth of cases again. He added that the ‘loosening measures were poorly prepared’.
The Robert Koch Institute said on Sunday the confirmed number of new coronavirus cases had increased by a daily 667 to 169,218, while the daily death toll had risen by 26 to 7,395.
Although Germany has had the sixth-largest COVID-19 caseload in Europe it has managed to contain fatalities from the highly infectious respiratory disease thanks to widespread and early testing and a healthcare system that is well-run and well-funded.