Germany announces ‘radical measures’ to limit spread of coronavirus

12:06, 17.03.2020

Germany will take “radical measures” to fight the spread of coronavirus by banning people from traveling for pleasure and closing non-essential shops, Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

Bars, theaters, museums, cinemas, leisure parks and non-essential shops will be closed and “there will be no tourist travels domestically or abroad,” with overnight stays only permitted for work-related travel, Merkel told reporters in Berlin.

“These are measures that have never been seen before in our country … but they are necessary to reduce the number of illnesses and serious diseases and not to overburden our health system,” she said, as reported by Politico.

Merkel said supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, post offices and other shops deemed as providing important services will remain open. Restaurants will only be allowed to open between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The chancellor also said that her government wanted to “maintain economic processes as much as possible.”

The number of cases in Germany has soared to 6,012, an increase of more than 1,100 since yesterday.

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