Vaccination session against Covid in Germany on January 22, 2021 – THOMAS KIENZLE / AFP
As calls for a new tightening of restrictions multiply, Germany has crossed the threshold of 3 million coronavirus infections, according to figures released on Monday by the national health watch authority (RKI).
Since the start of the pandemic, the total number of infections has stood at exactly 3.011 million, 13,245 more than the day before, according to the RKI, while the number of deaths stands at 78,452.
Towards a national reconfinement?
In addition, the national incidence rate over the last 7 days, particularly monitored by the authorities, stands at 136.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, above the threshold triggering in principle a tightening of restrictions.
In this context, Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke out again over the weekend, at a meeting of deputies from her conservative party, in favor of a strict form of national reconfinement for a fairly short period. The goal is to try to stem the third wave of the pandemic in the country, which continues to swell, despite movement restrictions already in place.
Overcome regional resistance
In addition, his government has planned to toughen national anti-Covid legislation on Tuesday in order to be able to impose “lockdowns” on the country as a whole, going as far as the imposition of night curfews, even if it means overriding resistance to the local or regional level.
This amendment to the existing legislation breaks a taboo in Germany, where federalism grants important prerogatives to regions in the area of health. Several of them are however accused of laxity in the face of the pandemic.