I have not followed this hard lockdown Merkel proposed but I have seen a pantload of headlines about it. Now I see rumor/word that she has done a 180 turn. Looks like the natives got plenty restless.
Actually this is what is happening.... we will see what comes out of this Wednesday meeting which is still in progress apparently. Germany's Merkel calls 'unexpected' meeting after agreeing to extend lockdown https://www.hindustantimes.com/worl...eeing-to-extend-lockdown-101616579013322.html At talks on Monday, which extended into early hours of Tuesday, Merkel and premiers of 16 states had agreed to extend lockdown till April 18. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called an unexpected meeting with leaders of the federal states for Wednesday morning to discuss the coronavirus pandemic after they agreed on Tuesday to extend the lockdown to April 18. At talks on Monday with the leaders of Germany's 16 states, Merkel had pushed for a tougher stance to fight the pandemic, reversing plans for a gradual re-opening of the economy agreed earlier this month after a sharp rise in the infection rate. But state premiers pushed back at the talks that ran into the early hours of Tuesday, only agreeing to call on citizens to stay at home for five days over the the Easter holidays to try to break a third wave of the pandemic. The move drew criticism from all sides, with businesses lamenting the extended lockdown and medical experts saying the new measures were not tough enough to prevent the exponential spread of more infectious variants of the virus. Armin Laschet, the leader of Merkel's Christian Democrats and the premier of Germany's most populous state, told the regional parliament he expected a very critical discussion about what had happened during the talks earlier this week. Merkel's CDU has come under increasing fire for its handling of the pandemic due to the slow pace of vaccinations and a corruption scandal over the procurement of face masks, hurting its poll ratings ahead of a national election in September. Germany reported another 15,813 infections on Wednesday, bringing the total to 2,690,523, while the death toll rose by 248 to 75,212. The number of cases per 100,000 in the last seven days, which the government has used as a key metric to decide on lockdown steps, was stable at 108.
Yeh. I dunno. I think there are reports out from the AP and others that she has nixed it. No one doubts that in politics a 180 degree reversal always gets worded differently. I dont know. Just sayin it is starting to get reported as somewhat of a fait accompli.
The only agreement in the previous meeting this week was to have restrictions around the 5 days of Easter.
Merkel drops Easter shutdown plan for Germany, apologizes https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/merkel-german-governors-meet-virus-measures-76648899
She should spend her time focusing on how to get Germany vaccine doses as soon as possible. Germany's entire vaccination plan fell apart because she depended on the EU to provide the doses -- and the EU failed miserably.
By liberal standards, this is clearly 100% Macron's fault and he should be removed immediately. https://news.trust.org/item/20210324120906-p43e6/ Covid virus situation worsening everywhere in France - government PARIS, March 24 (Reuters) - The COVID-19 virus situation is worsening everywhere in France, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Editing by GV De Clercq)
https://news.trust.org/item/20210324105529-ah80y After backlash, Merkel ditches stricter Easter lockdown * Merkel ditches plans for extra holidays * Says hasty plan for stricter shutdown was a mistake * Apologises for adding to Germans' uncertainty in pandemic (Adds further Merkel comment, comments by Finance Minister, FDP party head)
Herd Immunity Is Near, Despite Fauci’s Denial His estimate that it’ll take a 70% to 85% vaccination rate ignores those who have already been infected. https://www.wsj.com/articles/herd-immunity-is-near-despite-faucis-denial-11616624554
First let's note the author of this article, Marty Makary, who has been pushing a number of questionable COVID claims while promoting Trump-supported COVID responses. He had a previous piece in the Wall Street Journal in February making the same claims -- including the claim the U.S. would reach herd immunity by April. It appears that Marty Makary is doubling down again. This article appears to be just a re-write of the previous one with a desperate reach to find some additional information to support his assertions -- including the cherry-picked data from the California Department of Public Health found in his second paragraph. As noted earlier - Marty Makary claims that 10 people are infected for every case in the U.S. for COVID is not true. There are only 3 or 4 people infected in the U.S. for every known case. This is due to the U.S. having large amounts of available testing. At the beginning of the pandemic in the U.S. the 10 to 1 factor may have been true when there were limited tests available, but has no longer been true for at least eight months. Dr. Marty Makary claims about the infected percentage of people in the U.S. is not correct -- now he is trying to support it with cherry-picked data that only shows sections of crowded cities where the infection rate is much higher than the rest of the country. Coupled with this is the fact that in 40% of the people naturally infected with COVID their antibody immunity falls within six months to a level where they can easily be re-infected. (Article with study in the COVID-19 thread today). Of course, Dr. Marty Makary does not account for this reality whatsoever. Once again Dr. Marty Makary is pushing malarkey. Let's take a look at information from 4 infectious disease experts debunking his earlier WSJ assertions on this subject. VERIFY: When will the US see herd immunity? A timeline from 4 infectious disease experts Despite the bold assertion from Dr. Martin Makary, experts say herd immunity will take a while. Here's a breakdown from top health experts. https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/...erify/65-1d9f7209-c8be-4c6d-a11e-f5a1a5be7941