Germany set to ease coronavirus lockdown, schools to re-open from May 4

Germany has announced that it will allow some shops to resume businesses from April 20 and will also allow schools to re-open from May 4. German chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly said that the coronavirus pandemic was slowing down in the country and the government has prevented hospitals from being overwhelmed. The ease in the lockdown comes as other European nations announced similar relaxation. 

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Angela while talking to regional leaders via video-conferencing said that the country has achieved interim success but rushing ahead would be the wrong thing to do right now. Germany has made it compulsory for people to wear face masks while coming out of their homes. Germany is one of the few countries that have managed to bend the curve successfully as the number of deaths is just above 3,800 in the country, which way behind compared to its friends in the region. 

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According to data by worldometer, Germany has successfully treated 4,500 patients in the last 24 hours, taking the total recovered tally to 77,000. As of April 15, there were more than 53,000 active coronavirus cases in Germany, of which 4,288 patients remained under critical condition. However, on April 15 Germany recorded its highest single-day death toll when it logged in 315 deaths in a 24-hour span. According to reports, 2,866 new infections were reported on the same day taking the total confirmed cases in the country to 1,34,753. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

The coronavirus pandemic has infected over 2 million people globally and has killed nearly 1,36,000 patients since it first broke out in December 2019. The virus is believed to have originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, the initial epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally. Currently, the United States, Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom are the most affected countries in the world as all of them have recorded a death toll of more than 10,000.  

Read: Germany Records Its Highest Single-day Tally Of COVID-19 Deaths, 315 In 24 Hrs

(Image Credit: AP)