Foreign
GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel has gone into self-quarantine after having been treated by a doctor who later tested positive for the Coronavirus (COVID 19) infection.
In the meantime, authorities have boosted security measures across the country to curb the pandemic.
German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz on Monday stated that he would be holding a speech in the parliament later this week in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s place.
While noting that the government would introduce measures to help businesses, Scholz, however, predicted that there would be a roughly five percent decline in GDP.
“We have concluded that we are capable of protecting the country, the health of our citizens, the economy and employment positions in spite of the very significant changes.
“We will present this week in the Bundestag parliament a draft of an additional budget in the amount of almost 156 billion Euros,’’ he announced.
According to the finance minister specification, the additional allocation is meant for companies, self-employed persons, renters, and families.
Germany recently reported a surge in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases and now occupies fifth place in terms of the total number of infected, with almost 25,000 cases.
At the same time, the death toll in the country has reached 94.
Meanwhile, there are 340,000 cases of COVID-19 across the world and no less than 14,750 deaths in various countries. Almost 100,000 infected, however, have recovered from the disease. (Sputnik/NAN)
– Mar. 23, 2020 @ 19:15 GMT |
Tags: COVID-19: German Finance Minister to speak in parliament instead of Merkel
