German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the beginning of the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. The head of the German government made this statement at a meeting of the CDU / CSU parliamentary faction, Deutsche welle reports.
According to German Chancellor, Germany will need to re-open cautiously and step-by-step in order to avoid a sudden return to lockdown if Covid infections pick up again.
"We are now in the third wave. We cannot afford ups and downs," Merkel said.
She added that making rapid tests more available and boosting testing capacity could make a return to normality more durable.
Next Wednesday, Merkel will meet with the leaders of Germany's 16 states to discuss the way out of a lockdown that began in November and was extended until at least March 7.
As we reported earlier, Polish Health Minister Adam Niedzielski announced the third wave of coronavirus in the country.
"We definitely observe the third wave. This is not what awaits us in the future. We are already facing it. The question is what scale it will be," Nedzelsky said.
In particular, according to him, the question is whether the scale of the third wave will be the same as in November or smaller.