Merkel lashes out at populists over coronavirus
Populists who argue the coronavirus is harmless are dangerous and irresponsible, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday, defending a circuit break lockdown targeted at slowing the spread of the virus.
"We are in a dramatic situation in the beginning of the cold season. It impacts people, without exception," Merkel told the Bundestag lower house of parliament, adding new restrictions to lessen social contact were "necessary and proportionate". With an election significantly less than a year away, Merkel is keen to keep Germans on board, despite the threat of a fresh hit to Europe's biggest economy. She said populists who question the seriousness of the crisis were putting lives at risk.
"Lies and disinformation, conspiracy theories and hatred damage not merely the democratic debate but also the fight the virus," she told parliament in a speech during which she was heckled by far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) lawmakers. Criticism of the most recent restrictions has result from sectors that will be hit hardest, including hospitality and gastronomy.
On a far more fundamental level, many AfD lawmakers are angered with what they see as a historic curtailment of freedom.
"The daily bombardment with infection numbers is plainly designed to scare persons because so many don't see COVID within their daily lives," said AfD Honorary Chairman Alexander Gauland. "In the name of citizens' health, (the federal government) has decided on the biggest restrictions of freedom in the history of the republic," he said.
Worried hospitals will be overwhelmed, Merkel announced on Wednesday a month-long lockdown from Nov. 2 to add the closure of restaurants, gyms and theatres.
Germany was widely praised for keeping infection and deaths below those of many of its neighbors early in the crisis but, like much of Europe, is now amid a second wave. It recorded an archive 16,774 rise in cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 481,013.
The death toll rose by 89 to 10,272.
"The winter will be hard - four long, hard months - but it will end," said Merkel.
