Today, the German government adopted an amendment to the Infection Protect Act. Due to this, large parts of Germany must now adhere to a new curfew which will see non-essential shops closed between 9pm to 5am. Schools will also be closed in areas with case rates above 200 per 100,000 people.
Angela Merkel’s government made the decision due to the rise in cases as a result of the Kent variant of the virus.
Scientists Stefan Pöhlmann and Markus Hoffmann from the Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen said Germany does not have the adequate immunity nationwide to cope with an escaped variant of the virus.
Both expressed their concern over the efficacy of vaccines due to mutant strains of the virus.
With the virus spreading across the country, scientists have expressed concern over escape variants causing cases to rise at a much quicker rate than currently reported due to the low vaccine rollout.
If the population has a low degree of immunity, escape variants would have an advantage over the original strain and become dominant.
They said: “If there is hardly any immunity in a population, as is currently the case in Germany, an escape variant would be in direct competition with the predominant virus variants, which for their part still find enough susceptible hosts.”
Despite the situation in the country, Ms Merkel has struggled to come to an agreement with state premiers over restrictions.
Ms Merkel has called for an emergency brake to be imposed in order to halt the surge in cases.
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According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Germany is currently recording an average of 272.53 cases per 100,000 over a 14-day span.
The Robert Koch Institut (RKI) in Germany stated there were currently 4,474 active cases in intensive care, an increase of 35 from the previous week.
The number of total cases also rose by 20,407.
Commenting on the number, Mr Spahn said: “We need a lockdown.
“If this continues, it will be too much for our health system.
Although new restrictions have been brought in, RKI President Lothar Wieler claimed a two to four-week lockdown is needed to disrupt the rise in case numbers.
If the new legislation is passed by both houses in Germany, it will last until June 30.