Foreign
GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel and Health Minister Jens Spahn on Monday stressed the need for vaccination amid a surge of the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
Participants at a closed meeting of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said Merkel backed attaining a vaccination rate of 80 per cent.
Unvaccinated children would be vulnerable in the autumn, she said.
However, the chancellor also noted that hospitalisation rates resulting from the variant were not that high.
According to data from the official disease control body, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) by Sunday 56.5 per cent of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine with 38.9 per cent fully vaccinated.
The German authorities said that full vaccination offered good protection against hospitalisation for the virus.
Merkel was reported to have said that the issue of how to deal with the pandemic in schools would have “top priority” after the holidays.
Spahn said that while the vaccination programme was proceeding well, the rate was slackening.
He called for vaccination to be offered connected to activities such as attending an event in a stadium.
CDU vice chairman Thomas Strobl expressed concern at full stadia, planes and tourist venues on the Spanish holiday island of Mallorca, a popular destination for German holidaymakers.
RKI figures continued to show a steady decline in infections, hospitalisations and deaths resulting from the virus.
It said that infections in the 24 hours to early Monday came in at 212, with no deaths recorded. A week ago there were eight deaths in a similar period. (dpa/NAN)
– July 5, 2021 @ 13:15 GMT |
Tags: Merkel stresses vaccination amid Delta variant surge in Germany
