Germany faces lockdown until June as curbs fail to reduce cases

Berlin struggles to contain third wave of coronavirus

An AstraZeneca vaccine is administered at a medical centre in Germany. AFP

Germany's coronavirus infection rate rose at the weekend despite tougher restrictions, as Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said he did not expect rules to be eased until the end of May.

The country is struggling to contain a third wave of infections, with efforts complicated by the more contagious B117 variant, which emerged in the UK, and a relatively slow start to its vaccination campaign.

"We need a timetable how to get back to normal life but it must be a plan that won't have to be revoked after just a few days," Mr Scholz told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

The government should be able to outline "clear and courageous opening steps" for summer by the end of May, allowing restaurants to adjust reopening plans and citizens to plan holidays, he said.

Mr Scholz said the steps would also clarify when visits to concerts, theatres and football stadiums would be possible.

Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday urged Germans to stick to tougher rules imposed in areas with high infection rates at the weekend, saying it was needed to break the third wave.

Germany's seven-day average of cases for every 100,000 people rose to 166 at the weekend, government disease control agency the Robert Koch Institute said on Sunday.

Parliament approved amendments to the Infection Protection Act last week to give the federal government more powers during the pandemic.

Mrs Merkel drew up the changes after some of the 16 federal states refused to implement tougher measures.

The new law enables the government to impose curfews between 10pm and 5am in districts where cases exceed 100 for every 100,000 residents on three consecutive days.

Restrictions also include stricter limits to private gatherings and shopping.

Schools will have to close and return to online lessons if cases reach 165 for every 100,000 residents on three consecutive days.

Federal government and state premiers will discuss on Monday whether to soften or end age priorities for vaccinations.

Some states have already lowered the age threshold for AstraZeneca shots to 30.

The Justice Ministry is considering special rights for fully immunised citizens, which critics say will lead to a two-class society in which the vaccinated enjoy more rights.

Armin Laschet, Christian Democrats Union leader and candidate to succeed Mrs Merkel as chancellor, said vaccinated citizens should be treated as if they had a permanent negative test result.

Mr Laschet said vaccinated and convalescent people were less infectious than people who tested negative.

Therefore it was "legally required" that vaccinated people have the same rights as those who have been tested, he told Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

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