Following another round of talks between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of the federal states, it was announced on Wednesday that Germany’s partial lockdown would be extended until at least January 10. 

Coronavirus restrictions to remain in place into January

As expected, Germany has opted to extend the partial lockdown yet again. This means that bars, restaurants, museums, theatres and leisure facilities will remain closed until at least January 10. “In principle, things will remain as they are now, with the exception, of course, of the Christmas regulations,” said Merkel. She added that she would meet with state leaders again after the holidays, on January 4, for another consultation on how to proceed. 

According to the chancellor, Germany is still “very far away” from target value, with the very high number of fatalities being singled out as a particular cause for concern. Merkel once again reiterated the government’s aim to bring the number of new coronavirus infections below 50 per 100.000 residents per week.

Merkel said that some 70 million doses of both the BioNTech / Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines could be delivered to Germany at the beginning of 2021, if they receive emergency use authorisation in the EU. However, she emphasised that this would still not be enough to immunise Germany’s entire population of 80 million and that the country still needs to “get through winter.” 

Some German states will not extend lockdown 

The state premier of Bavaria, Markus Söder, stressed that the extension of the shutdown had been a “clear” and “uniform” decision by the chancellor and the state premiers. He also indicated that there might be a further tightening of the rules to combat COVID-19 in areas where infection rates remain high in the future. He said it was better to impose shorter, more consistent regulations than longer, semi-consistent ones. 

In contrast, the state premier of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Manuela Schwesig, said that her state, where infection rates have remained low, reserved the right not to extend the partial lockdown until January 10. A decision will be made by the MV state parliament on December 15. Schleswig-Holstein, which also has a seven-day incidence rate below 50 per 100.000, is also expected to deviate from the nationwide regulation.