Germany wants European countries to work very closely to reduce corona infections and combat new variants of the virus. Berlin hopes that border closures can be avoided thanks to intensive cooperation.
That is the message from government coordinator or ‘Kanzleramtchef’ Helge Braun, on the day that European leaders hold an online summit on the fight against the coronavirus.
Braun stressed that Germany wants to “act in sync” with neighbouring countries. He says the goal is to prevent borders from being closed, but that cannot be ruled out if neighbouring countries do not do enough to reduce the number of corona infections. Germany has nine neighbouring countries.
In the Federal Republic, health authorities are reporting fewer and fewer infections. According to the latest figures, the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants on Thursday is 119.
That is the lowest number since 1 November, and this number has been falling for ten days in a row. According to Braun, the government is now aiming with the latest corona measures to achieve an average of 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants.
However, the regional differences are substantial, and Braun also sees the possibility that strict corona measures may have to be taken for the internal borders between the federal states.