Trust Angela Merkel to lay it on the line.
The German Chancellor has warned her people that the Covid-19 pandemic is probably going to get much worse as summer turns to fall and that there'll be no return to normalcy until an effective vaccine is available.
"We have to expect that some things will be even more difficult in the coming months than in summer," she said at a traditional summer news conference in Berlin.
"It is serious. As serious as it ever was. And keep taking it seriously," she said, adding: "We will have to keep living with this virus."
Merkel said her government would take measures to protect the worst-hit groups in German society, particularly children, who have seen their schooling interrupted amid school closures before the summer.
The government would do "everything so that our children are not the losers of the pandemic. School and daycare need to be the most important things," she said.
She said efforts to keep the economy running and to preserve jobs would be made, adding that a spirit of social solidarity would be promoted to cushion the effects of the pandemic on other groups such as the elderly and low-income families.
Meanwhile, Berlin police broke up a protest by opponents of virus health and safety restrictions.
Out of the 300 arrests, at least 200 of them took place during a section of the protest in front of the Russian Embassy where some 3,000 right-wing extremists and members of the anti-state Reichsbürger movement (Citizens of the Reich) had gathered.
Berlin police tweeted that the arrests were made due to protesters "throwing bottles, freeing people under arrest and other crimes." They added that conspiracy theorist, vegan cookbook author and self-declared member of the "ultra-right" Attila Hildmann was among those arrested.
6 comments:
Don't hold your breath on a vaccine . . . meanwhile, we should be ramping up testing:
https://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/quebec-begins-trying-out-saliva-tests-for-covid-19
I was mightily pissed off when I saw photos of a horde of 20-somethings partying on Wreck Beach like it was 2019. That group and the 30-somethings appear the source of the latest wave of Covid cases in B.C.
Testing is essential, absolutely, but getting this pandemic back under control before the arrival of flu season is more critical.
Living in a society requires a measure of conformity on matters of public interest. If the rules say we drive on the right then you must drive on the right. Some might think that unfair. So what? It's necessary for the health and safety of the community. If you can't accept that then take the bus.
If some think it's an intolerable intrusion on their freedoms to require masks, social distancing, etc., then it's incumbent on them to find their freedoms elsewhere. They can follow the path blazed by the Doukhobors and carve out their own settlements where they can infect each other as their sacrifice for freedoms.
We don't seem to talk about this 'resistance' in the context of the other side, i.e. when a vaccine emerges. What will we do with the anti-vaxxer crowd, the group that has successfully restored another viral infection, measles, to our community? We are going to have enough problems meeting the challenges this century will bring without a frivolous resistance intent on throwing their wrench into the gears.
prophylactic measures are clearly necessary, but you can't possibly know if you have a contagion under control without testing
there are significant numbers of people who have no idea how to handle masks (or more relevantly, how not to handle masks)
there are significant numbers of people who are asymptomatic
without far higher levels of testing we will have no idea the actual spread and penetration of this plague
without proper testing the efficacy of any given vaccine will be unknown, as will the ability to determine which vaccine (if any) is safest
a whole lot more transparency would go a long way to getting many doubters in line with proper public health measures. that transparency starts with decent testing
It's truly depressing to see people -- particularly the young -- partying like there's no tomorrow. That's one way to ensure there will be no tomorrow.
Anon, there's no rocket science involved in masks - fitting them, wearing them, disposing of them. Yes there are those who are asymptomatic which is why social distancing, masks, etc. must be mandated for everyone because people who show no symptoms could be shedding the virus. I agree with testing but that, of itself, isn't an answer. As for the doubters, they're a luxury we cannot afford in our midst. So little is being asked of them that their imagined grievances are ridiculous.
Hey, Owen. I also knew myself to be immortal in my youth. What they choose to ignore is that it's not their health that's at issue but the wellbeing of everyone else. It's all there in the etymological roots of 'society' and 'community.' If you cannot accept the basic requirements of the commune, you best take your leave. It's the responsibility part they cannot abide.
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