Germany will allow playgrounds, zoos, museums and churches to reopen but will maintain travel restrictions and most other curbs on public life amid concerns about reigniting the spread of the coronavirus.
Large events, restaurants and daycare facilities will remain off limits for the time being, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday after meeting with the heads of Germany’s 16 states. Bigger moves to ease the country’s lockdown will be evaluated at a gathering on May 6, when the policy makers will have more reliable data on the effects of initial steps that started on April 20.
Germany already announced that major gatherings would be banned across the country until August 31st. Merkel said Thursday that these included folk festivals, major sporting events with spectators, concerts, festivals or fairground events.
Merkel stressed that a coordinated strategy was being pursued by the federal and state governments in the coronavirus crisis. It is “in the interest of the people that there is a common strategy and a goal in Germany”, Merkel said.
The reopening of schools and kindergartens as well as loosening up restrictions for sports will not be discussed until the next round of talks on May 6th, she said.
