BERLIN, April 9./TASS/: The pace of growth of new coronavirus cases in Germany has slowed down somewhat, but the social distancing strategy must not be relaxed, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin on Thursday.
"We can say that the latest trend in figures gives grounds for cautious hope," she said. However, the situation "remains fragile," Merkel added. "After [Catholic and Protestant] Easter we must continue what was started, since otherwise everything that has been accomplished can be quickly ruined," the chancellor warned, urging the fellow citizens to observe discipline and abide by the social distancing rules.
Germany reports more than 108,000 coronavirus cases, and over 2,000 fatalities.
As of now, practically all social life has been reduced to zero in Germany. Museums, theaters, concert and exhibition halls, restaurants, bars, barbershops, beauty shops, swimming pools and gyms remain closed across the country. People are not allowed to gather in groups of more than two with the exception of families and people living under the same roof. Also, people in the streets and shops must stay 1.5 meters away from each other. Police and administrative agencies control abidance by these rules.
In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus — named COVID-19 by the WHO — have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.
On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 1,500,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 88,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far over 331,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.
