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 The premiers of the states are due to agree plans with Chancellor
Angela Merkel on Wednesday. Berlin mayor Michael Mueller told ARD
television he was confident the measures, agreed by the leaders late
on Monday, would be adopted.
The premiers agreed to extend a national "lockdown light",
introduced on Nov. 2, until Dec. 20 to slow the spread of the
COVID-19 pandemic. This will keep bars, restaurants and
entertainment venues shut while schools and shops stay open.
They also agreed to reduce the number of people allowed to meet to
five from Dec. 1.
Germany, which kept infections and deaths low compared to many of
its neighbours in the first phase of the crisis, has stopped an
exponential rise in new coronavirus cases but the overall numbers
are still far too high, say officials.
Keen to preserve public acceptance, the premiers want to offer
relief over Christmas, saying from Dec. 23 to Jan. 1, a maximum of
10 people should be allowed to meet.
"Christmas and other end-of-year festivities should be possible as
celebrations with family and friends even in this unusual year,
albeit on a smaller scale," the draft said.
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They also stopped short of recommending a blanket ban on fireworks at New Year's
Eve, but said none would be allowed in public areas to avoid large numbers of
people gathering.
Under their plans, aid would be extended for firms hit by November's
restrictions. The government expects November aid to cost 10-15 billion euros
and sources estimate additional costs for December, possibly of some 15-20
billion euros.
Europe's biggest economy grew by a record 8.5% in the third quarter following a
9.8% plunge in the spring. However, German business morale fell for the second
month in November, pointing to contraction in the fourth quarter, said Ifo.
Germany saw the number of coronavirus cases rise by 13,554 in the latest 24-hour
period to a total of 942,687 on Tuesday. The reported overall death toll was
14,361.
(Additional reporting by Caroline Copley and Christian Kraemer; writing by
Madeline Chambers; editing by Thomas Seythal, Kevin Liffey, Alexandra Hudson)
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