FOURTH COVID WAVE IS HITTING GERMANY WITH ‘FULL FORCE’, MERKEL WARNS

Wed 17 November 2021:

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel termed the COVID-19 situation in Germany as “dramatic,” claiming that the pandemic’s fourth wave has hit the country “with full force.”

“We need to state that the pandemic is not over. On the contrary, the current situation is dramatic, and I cannot call it differently. The fourth wave struck our country with full force,” Merkel said at the meeting of the Association of German Cities.

The politician described the number of daily lethal cases relating to COVID-19 as “terrifying,” so the upcoming Friday meeting with heads of Federal German states, according to Merkel, has a specific importance, even though, the meeting is coming “too late.”

Germany has the highest number of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic in recent weeks. Over 50,000 new cases have been reported throughout the country in the just 24 hours. The proportion of fatal cases is lower currently than during prior peaks, but it is still at an all-time high over the last three months.

Merkel mentioned the three keys to curbing the spread of coronavirus, the first of which is controlling the number of COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals since overcrowded hospitals “immediately” affect the health care systems of the neighboring regions, where the patients are transferred to.

The German leader also emphasized the need of vaccination and a public awareness campaign to encourage people to get vaccine shots.

“Even now, it not late to decide to get the first vaccine dose, because everybody who gets vaccinated, protects themselves and their relatives. Vaccination of a significant share of the population is a way out of the pandemic,” Merkel said.

So far, more than 67 percent of Germans have been fully vaccinated, making it one of the lowest immunization rates in Western Europe. In Germany, only slightly more than 5% of people have had booster doses.

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