Coronavirus hope as Germany opens non-essential shops while recording lowest death toll for two weeks – The Sun
GERMANY has reopened a number of non-essential shops today as the country sees the lowest coronavirus deaths for two weeks and the lowest number since mid-March.
Yesterday Germany recorded 104 deaths from COVID-19, the smallest death rate since the 92 deaths on April 6.
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For the first time in weeks, some regions in Germany have allowed shops to reopen today.
Stores smaller than 8,600 square feet (800 square metres) were allowed welcome customers again as long as they adhere to the social distancing measures.
These shops include florists, garages and fashion stores.
Schools remain largely closed but classes about to graduate this summer will gradually resume and universities will be allowed to hold exams in a number of weeks.
All other lockdown measures including a ban on gatherings of more than two people and large-scale public events will remain in force.
Last week Angela Merkel agreed to lower the restrictions of the lockdown with the leaders of Germany's 16 states.
Each state is set to lift the restrictions at their own pace.
Some states, such as Germany's capital Berlin, will take a little longer to reopen fully.
Jens Spahn, the German health minister, declared that the virus was "under control" but Merkel has warned that the relative success is still "fragile".
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After Merkel's announcement about easing lockdown measures last week, the country's coronavirus cases spiked three days in a row.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases confirmed on April 17 that coronavirus cases increased by 3,380 to 133,830 – Germany's biggest rise in six days – according to its data.
Despite the rise in cases, Health Minister Jens Spahn says hospitals have "at no time been overwhelmed so far".
Spahn said the coronavirus outbreak has become "manageable again" as the number of patients beating the disease has been higher than the number of new infections every day this week.
He told reporters that hospitals and surgeries have "at no time been overwhelmed so far".
Chancellor Angela Merkel said the virus reproduction or transmission rate in Germany was around one – meaning one person with the virus infects one other on average.
The 1,775 new cases bring the total from 139,897 to 141,672, marking the smallest increase since 1,042 positive tests were added to the tally on March 18.
The country hopes to ramp up testing in the coming days – it has already tested around two million people – and aims to produce around 50million protective masks, including 10million of the higher efficiency FFP2 standard a week from August.
Though not yet obligatory, Merkel said her government 'strongly advises' wearing a mask in public.
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