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Coronavirus: Germans back reopening, as experts urge caution 

  • April 24, 2020

Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) warned on Friday against a “landslide” of further reopenings, as many federal states lifted coronavirus lockdowns this week. 

The warning comes as a new poll by broadcaster ZDF showed that 55% of Germans back the gradual lifting of lockdowns restrictions rolled out this week by various federal states.  

RKI said in its daily press conference that the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Germany will need to fall to a few hundred per day, before the country can consider further easing. 

As of Friday, Germany registered 2,337 new coronavirus cases, a slight decrease in a tally that had been rising for three straight days.   

In an agreement between the federal government and the states, non-essential stores of up to 800 square meters (8,610 square feet) in size were re-opened, as well as car dealers, book and bicycle shops of any size. 

Read more:  Coronavirus will make life hard for a long time, Angela Merkel says

RKI: more reopening, more testing 

Lars Schaade, RKI vice-president, said that Germany had was coping well with the pandemic in comparison to other countries, but warned that the country could not “become negligent.” 

“We should not lower our guard now,” Schaade said. 

RKI announced that it had widened its recommendation for who can be tested to include anyone with symptoms of respiratory infections, even if they had no known contact with a COVID-19 case. 

“Now that the government is easing restrictions gradually… it is particularly important to be able to identify COVID-19 in people who only have mild symptoms,” Schaade said. 

RKI urge the public to adhere to social distancing and hand-washing measures, adding that the use of masks is recommended but should be complementing these actions.

  • Cars and COVID-19: From shutdown to slow recovery

    Earnings slump

    At German premium carmaker Daimler, net profit fell 78% in the first quarter, bleeding the company’s cash position down to a meager €617 million ($662 million). Securing liquidity has top priority now, says CFO Harald Wilhelm, as he throws out guidance for the year. Slumping demand, struggling parts supply and a difficult restart of production makes any outlook impossible, he says.

  • Cars and COVID-19: From shutdown to slow recovery

    A 20% dive

    Daimler’s trucks business has been hit especially hard in the first three months of 2020, with sales slumping 20% compared with the same period last year. The company’s luxury brand, Mercedes-Benz, also suffered a decline — down by 15% even though global showrooms and factories had remained open until March.

  • Cars and COVID-19: From shutdown to slow recovery

    After the shutdown

    The complete halt of production at Daimler lasted four weeks, with about 80% of its 170,000 employees being out of work and sustaining themselves through Germany’s short-time work scheme. Although factories have been opening since Monday (April 20), most staff will remain dependent on the state-funded wage compensation until the end of April.

  • Cars and COVID-19: From shutdown to slow recovery

    Tentative recovery

    Chinese autoworkers, like those at Honda’s Dongfeng plant (pictured), have already resumed work, hoping for sales in the world’s largest car market to pick up again. While in February car sales in China collapsed by 80%, there was light at the end of the tunnel in March with declines slowing to 48%. Meanwhile, all of Daimler’s production plants in the country are back in operation.

  • Cars and COVID-19: From shutdown to slow recovery

    Assembly lines rolling again

    The world’s largest carmaker by sales, Volkswagen, has reopened its factory in Zwickau, Germany, pressing ahead with the production of its ID.3 electric car. Despite a 5-week work stoppage at the plant, VW says efforts to roll out the pivotal mass-market electric vehicle this summer are still on time. Engine production at VW’s Chemnitz plant though is only gradually being scaled up.

  • Cars and COVID-19: From shutdown to slow recovery

    Main factory sitting idle

    VW’s largest production facility in Wolfsburg, Germany, however will remain shuttered at least until Monday (April 27). So will its plants in Emden and Hanover. Security protocols, including heavy-duty disinfecting and cleaning, will be put in place, says VW. Where social distancing measures aren’t possible, workers are obliged to wear face masks.

  • Cars and COVID-19: From shutdown to slow recovery

    Melting cash buffers

    At Renault in France, the coronavirus-induced shutdown has led to a massive drop in revenue, down by 20% on a decline in unit sales of more than a quarter. The slump has been hemorrhaging the company’s cash reserves by about a third, but that still leaves €10.3 billion in Renault’s coffers.

  • Cars and COVID-19: From shutdown to slow recovery

    PSA reopening plan still missing

    French carmaker PSA, including the Peugeot, Citroen and Opel brands, saw its first-quarter unit sales even more clobbered than those of its national rival. It sold a staggering 627,000 vehicles less than a year before, down 29%. So far, PSA has not given any date for reopening its European plants, citing ongoing talks with labor unions about pandemic security precautions.

  • Cars and COVID-19: From shutdown to slow recovery

    Auto news from the EU epicenter

    In Italy, one of the worst-hit EU country in the current pandemic, the complete shutdown of all industries will not be relaxed before May 4. So the country’s top carmaker, Fiat Chrysler, will continue to suffer enormous losses, already amounting to 76% fewer cars sold in March. By comparison, Europe-wide auto sales slumped by “only” 55% on average during the month.

    Author: Andreas Rostek-Buetti


Germans back gradual reopening 

In the ZDF poll, a wide majority of 81% of Germans said they felt their government was doing enough to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

As 55% said they backed the gradual lift of coronavirus lockdown measures, some 13% said they wanted to see more efforts in reopening, while 30% felt that “too much” was being loosened.  

Germans appeared to be in line with their government’s lockdown rollbacks, with 53% approving the upcoming partial reopening of schools and vast majority, or 94%, agreed that large events should be banned until August. 

More than two-thirds, or 68%, agreed that it was too soon to reopen restaurants and bars. 

A general concern about the country’s economy could be driving public support for a gradual reopening, as 73% of Germans said they expect an economic downturn to follow the pandemic. 

Read more:  German stores re-open in first step to ease coronavirus restrictions

Reopening discussion looms 

The RKI warning is the latest addition in Germany’s national discussion over how to proceed as the pandemic continues and the country feels the economic effects of shuttering business activity. 

This has prompted other business sectors to weigh whether to open back or not. One of them was the German football league, which announced it would reintroduce games without fans next month, a move that was backed 46% percent of Germans and rejected by 40%. 

Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticized what she viewed as excessive “reopening discussions orgies” in some federal states, which seemed too eager to emerge from partial lockdown. 

Merkel has also sounded the alarm on rolling back the gains the country has made in stemming the crisis. “We’re not living in the final phase of the pandemic, but still at the beginning,” she told lawmakers on Thursday. “We will be living with this virus for a long time.”

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas echoed Merkel’s words on Friday, during a press conference with Ann Linde, the foreign minister of Sweden, a country that has kept itself largely open and served as an exception in Europe. 

Maas said Germany would be “very, very careful with the loosening up” going forward. 

“What we want to avoid is a second wave, which will hit us much harder, both in terms of health and the economy,” Maas said. 

jcg/sms (Reuters, dpa) 

Every evening at 1830 UTC, DW’s editors send out a selection of the day’s hard news and quality feature journalism. Sign up to receive it directly here. 

 

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-germans-back-reopening-as-experts-urge-caution/a-53232554?maca=en-rss-en-ger-1023-xml-atom

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