Germany will not shut schools and non-essential businesses again if the COVID-19 infection rate rises again later this year but protective masks would play a bigger role, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told broadcaster ARD on Sunday.
The infection rate in Germany has been on the rise for the past month, reaching close to 700 new cases per 100,000 residents this week, after falling below 200 in late May, but Scholz said that vaccinations should help limit what measures will be needed to curb the spread of the virus.
"There should not be school closures again, and I also don't think that we will need the kind of lockdowns we had several times in the last couple of years," he told ARD in an interview."But I believe that you can expect that masks will play a bigger role again in the autumn and winter than they do now," he added.
Scholz, who has so far not been infected with COVID-19, said he would recommend that anyone over 60 years of age should seek a fourth shot of COVID-19 vaccine, as he had. "Maybe the fact that I have been vaccinated four times is the reason that it hasn't happened," he said.Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Writing by Maria Sheahan Editing by Ludwig Burger
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Tesla's deliveries fall, hurt by China's COVID-related shutdown By Reuters*TESLA'S DELIVERIES FALL IN Q2, HURT BY CHINA'S COVID SHUTDOWN - $TSLA
Read more »
California students capture images of school life during COVIDAs part of the “Student Reflections: Looking Back on School during COVID” series, students in each community were given disposable cameras to document their own experiences. It was produced through a partnership with catchlight_io.
Read more »
Tesla posts rare drop in sales in second quarterCovid lockdowns in China resulted in a rare drop in production and sales for Tesla in the second quarter.
Read more »
STAAR test results improved this year for Texas elementary, middle school studentsStandardized testing scores for elementary and middle schoolers in Texas improved this past school year after disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more »
Texas STAAR results improve in math and reading after pandemic dipsThere had been fear that after another school year of COVID-19 disruptions, scores would not improve.
Read more »
Texas STAAR results improve in math and reading after pandemic dipsThere had been fear that after another school year of COVID-19 disruptions, scores would not improve.
Read more »