Germany COVID-19 Cases Rise After Easing Lockdown

• Germany is seeing an increase of coronavirus cases after lifting the implemented lockdown.
• The country has often been praised for its quick and effective response when the virus first started spreading there.
• Chancellor Angela Merkel believes that the country still has “a long way” to go as they try to handle the COVID-19 crisis.

After weeks of easing lockdown measures, Germany is now unfortunately seeing an increase of coronavirus cases. This is despite the fact that the country has been well-praised for its response to the pandemic.

Now a report by the Robert Koch Institute is telling us that reproduction rate – or the number of people who may possibly get infected by a patient who has the virus – is currently above 1.

It looks like Germany’s battle against the coronavirus pandemic is still far from over.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has decided to lift the restrictions, allowing most businesses to operate with students slowly returning to their schools. For the most part, the country’s success was due to their strict lockdown measures and aggressive mass testing.

“We always have to be aware that we are still at the beginning of the pandemic,” the chancellor has since said. “And there’s still a long way in dealing with this virus in front of us.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), all countries should still be “at the highest level of alert” and so plans to relax restrictions need to be “phased and gradual.”

“Through national unity and global solidarity, we can save both lives and livelihoods and ensure that other health services both function and improve,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of WHO.

Here’s a report by ABC News Australia:

As of May 15, Germany now has 175,123 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 151,700 recoveries and a death toll of 7,933.