Germany: Söder urges December COVID summit

Bavaria state premier Markus Söder on Monday urged Germany's federal and state leaders to hold another top-level meeting before Christmas, as coronavirus cases across the country remain high.  

"Coronavirus just won't let up and we have to react to this," Söder told German public broadcaster ARD. 

"We have to consider whether it makes sense to wait until January 10. We need to act and I think better sooner than later," he added. 

Söder recently announced a plan to impose stricter measures in his state of Bavaria, a decision he defended as necessary.  

Germany has been under a partial lockdown since November 2 that was supposed to last one month. It was extended to January 10, following a meeting between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of the 16 federal states, as the government saw no real progress in the past month. 

The government is now considering a lockdown reprieve during the Christmas period, lifting the 5-person maximum restriction for private gatherings to 10.  

Most Germans support the current measures and would also support a loosening of restrictions around Christmas, though not New Year's Eve.

'Worse than expected' 

But the situation in Germany does not appear to be under control and that has government officials and epidemiologists worried.  

Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Monday that the government's measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic have been insufficient. 

The persistently high infection rate was "far worse than our expectations," Altmaier said. "One can and must say that the previous measures are not enough to really break the second wave of infections," he added. 

Altmaier echoed Söder's plea for action, saying that very intensive consultations were necessary in the coming days and weeks in order to determine whether additional measures would be necessary. 

Vaccination possible in January 

Merkel's chief of staff, Helge Braun, backed calls for another summit of state leaders and the federal government before Christmas.

He said Germans should try to reduce contacts and spoke out in favor of moving to distance learning for some older children in coronavirus hotspots. 

Additionally, Braun said he expected coronavirus vaccinations to start in Germany ''in the very first days'' of 2021.  

EU authorities are expected to make a decision by December 29 on approving the first vaccine for use. In the meantime, Germany has already begun readying vaccination centers across the country.  

jcg/dr (dpa, AFP)