BERLIN (Reuters) – The light is at the end of the tunnel and “we will beat this virus,” Chancellor Angela Merkel told the Germans on Thursday, just a day after asking the country to put its U-turn on a circuit breaker. to forgive. lockdown at Easter.
Merkel’s decision on Wednesday to drop plans for an extended Easter holiday to try to break a third wave of COVID-19, agreed two days earlier during talks with governors of the 16 German states, raised concerns that she has her grip on the crisis. had lost.
In a hearty, 27-minute speech to lawmakers on Thursday, she acknowledged how difficult life is for many people, but urged them to think positively, arguing that vaccinations provided a way out of the crisis.
“It will take a few more months, but the light at the end of the tunnel is visible. We will beat this virus! she told lawmakers in the lower house of the Bundestag.
“Now it is a matter of gathering strength and making positive progress, even if the situation is difficult at the moment. That’s what I want from everyone in this country, ”Merkel said to loud applause.
Germany reported another 22,657 infections on Thursday, while the death toll rose by 228 to 75,440. The number of deaths has decreased from earlier in the year when vaccinations had not yet started, but the number of admissions to intensive care is increasing and the seven-day incidence is now 113, compared to 90 a week ago.
Merkel addressed the Bundestag ahead of a summit of EU leaders later on Thursday, where she said they would discuss how to get more vaccines made on European soil.
The European Commission has threatened to ban exports to countries like Great Britain that have higher vaccination coverage but don’t export shots to the EU. The goal is to secure supplies for the bloc’s own citizens as they face a third wave of the pandemic.
“UK manufacturing sites produce for Britain and the United States don’t export, so we depend on what we can make in Europe,” Merkel said.
“We have to assume that the virus, with its mutations, could keep us busy for a long time, so the demand is well beyond this year,” she added.
Britain and the European Commission said on Wednesday that they were discussing how they could work together to create a “win-win” situation for COVID-19 vaccines after the bloc threatened to take tougher measures to ban exports of COVID-19 vaccines. curb deliveries of shots.
Ahead of the EU summit, Bavarian State Prime Minister Markus Soeder backed calls for controls on vaccine exports to Europe.
“There should be a ban on the export of European vaccines to countries that produce vaccines themselves and do not supply anything to Europe,” he tweeted.
Reporting by Paul Carrel; Adaptation by Riham Alkousaa and Catherine Evans