BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel told the leadership of her party on Monday that coronavirus infections could hit 19,200 per day in Germany if the current trend continues but stressed that the economy must be kept running, Bild newspaper reported.
Infections have been generally rising in Germany for weeks. Data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 1,192 on Monday compared to Sunday.
“If the trend continues as it is now, we’ll have 19,200 infections a day. That’s like in other countries,” Merkel told a videoconference of the leadership of her Christian Democrats (CDU), Bild said.
The mass-selling daily, which did not cite its source for the information, said Merkel had deemed the infection numbers in Europe as worrying and declared Germany needed to do everything it could to avoid the numbers rising exponentially again.
“We must quickly contain the infections and intervene,” she was quoted as saying. “We must set priorities, namely keeping the economy running and keeping schools and nurseries open. Soccer is secondary to that for now.”
Bild said Merkel considered parties along with visits to restaurants and religious events problematic.
Reporting by Michelle Adair; Editing by Maria Sheahan
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