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 Europe's largest economy has been in partial lockdown for six weeks,
with bars and restaurants closed but shops and schools open. That
has stopped the coronavirus's exponential growth but infection
levels remain at a high level.
Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, Merkel said regional leaders
should follow scientific guidance, which has called for people to
further reduce their contact with others.
"It would be good to take seriously what the scientists are telling
us," she said. "We will not be able to vaccinate so many people in
the first quarter of 2021 - which is the winter quarter - that we
will see a significant change."
Under Germany's federal system, the power to impose restrictions
lies with regional governments. Merkel has long pushed for harsher
lockdown measures, which some state leaders, especially those in
less affected regions, have resisted.
The Leopoldina, an official scientific advisory body, has
recommended that school Christmas holidays start earlier than
planned and that shops be closed until at least Jan. 10 to mop up
the after-effects of a possible spike caused by families meeting at
Christmas.
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Merkel said schools should extend holidays until Jan. 10 or offer online lessons
until then.
She warned that the pandemic was "reordering" the global economy, with European
countries suffering a more serious economic hit from the virus than many others,
especially in Asia.
But she defended Germany's approach against critics who said authorities should
have been more aggressive in policing lockdowns, saying that its liberal
approach was bound to be different from that of countries that "look more like
dictatorships."
(Reporting by Paul Carrel and Thomas EscrittEditing by Michelle Adair)
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