Germany lifts extra restrictions, Merkel urges warning – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

BERLIN – (AP) – Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans to behave responsibly as large parts of the country eased further pandemic restrictions on Friday at the beginning of Pentecost weekend, and stated that caution should be exercised to avoid further standstills.

The German regions have gradually started to relax restrictions as the number of new coronavirus cases steadily declines, accompanied by an accelerated vaccination campaign.

Beer gardens, cafes and restaurants in Berlin and elsewhere served customers outdoors for the first time in months on Friday – provided they present a negative COVID-19 test or a certificate of vaccination.

By Friday, most of the 400 German cities and districts had a weekly case number below the threshold of 100 per 100,000 inhabitants, which triggered strict lockdown measures. But top officials stressed the need to remain vigilant.

“We can be happy that (infection rates) have fallen so far in the last few days and in the last two weeks that we can think about opening steps,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin.

“I hope that after a long time with closings and opportunities they didn’t have, people will be very responsible about handling those opportunities,” she added. “The virus hasn’t gone away.”

The country’s disease control agency reported 8,769 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and 226 deaths on Thursday. The country has reported 87,128 virus-related deaths since the pandemic began.

State authorities have been vigorous in pushing for hospitality and tourism to reopen for the three-day weekend, despite concerns from federal officials.

“It feels good to finally get some freedom back,” said Christian Klimpke, 48, an account manager whom friends came to see in the Berlin beer garden cafe on the Neuen See.

“I’ve lived here for exactly six months now. I came here on the day the bars closed, said 29 year old Luke Siglmans, originally from Amsterdam. “So it’s amazing to finally have a real German draft beer on a terrace. So I am very happy. “

Merkel said it was important to keep wearing masks and watching social distancing. “We have to be careful,” she said.

But “I believe that with the necessary responsibility and care that hopefully many – most people – will take on, we don’t have to talk about shutting down again.”

Merkel noted that there are concerns about the emergence of a virus variant first discovered in India, “which appears to be a little more aggressive” than the currently dominant variant.

The variant has spread across the UK. The German authorities announced on Friday evening that the UK would be placed on a list of “virus variant areas” from Sunday, which includes India itself and Brazil, but no other European countries. That will trigger new travel restrictions.

The listing means airlines and others are largely restricted to transporting German citizens and residents out of the UK, and those who arrive will have to spend 14 days in quarantine at home.

Around 40% of the population in Germany have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine so far. About one in eight people – more than 10 million people – have been fully vaccinated.

___

Dorothee Thiesing and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.

——

For more information on the AP pandemic, please visit https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine