On April 21, the German Bundestag approved a single "emergency brake" for the whole country to combat the third wave of the coronavirus epidemic. Amendments to the Law on the Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases strengthen the powers of the federation to introduce restrictive measures in the fight against the spread of coronavirus in Germany.
The amendments introduce uniform rules for the whole of Germany concerning the tightening of measures to combat coronavirus ("emergency brake"). Districts and cities with high infection rates are subject to night curfews, school closures and stricter restrictions on the operation of shops.
The law approved by the Bundestag may come into force no earlier than April 24. For this to happen, it must still be approved by the Bundesrat - the Chamber of the Federal States of Germany, signed by the President of Germany Frank-Walter Stein Meier (Frank-Walter Stein Meier), after which it will be made public. The measures adopted by the Parliament will be in effect at least until June 30.
Meanwhile, the WHO said that the spread of coronavirus will continue to increase in Europe. The third wave of the new type of coronavirus pandemic has already arrived in Europe and is developing at different rates in the EU countries, the European Commission has recognized. According to Hans Kluge, Director of the Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization (WHO), in order to cope with the spring wave, it is necessary to accelerate vaccination.
In Central Europe, the Balkans and the Baltic states, the incidence, the number of hospitalizations and mortality are now among the highest in the world. At the same time, 48 out of 53 countries or territories reported the identification of the British strain B of concern.1.1.7, which is gradually becoming predominant in Europe.
