Germany’s Merkel on coronavirus: We are in a very serious situation now
Following a conclusion of the meeting with the state premiers early Tuesday, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed concerns about the severity of the coronavirus situation in the country.
She confirmed that the lockdown in the country will be extended until April 18.
Europe’s no.1 economy battles with surging covid cases and slower vaccines rollout amid a row with the UK.
Key quotes
We are in a race to get vaccinations done
Case numbers are rising exponentially thanks to the British variant of the virus.
Where cases are above 100/100K/week we must halt opening measures.
The fewer new infections now the faster vaccinations will have an impact.
April 1 - 5 will be a period of quiet days of reduced social contacts.
This will be an extended easter when people should stay at home.
No more than 5 adults for 2 households can meet at home at once over this time.
For most of this time only food shops will be open.
April 1 and 3 will be treated as holidays.
New British variant of coronavirus means we effectively in a new pandemic.
UK variant is more infectious, more deadly, more prolonged.
Market reaction
EUR/USD is testing lows near 1.1930, having erased gains amid a comeback in the US dollar across the board and covid woes in Germany.
Author
Dhwani Mehta
FXStreet
Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.
