Germany plans to lift its quarantine restrictions after April 19

THE German Ministry of Interior announced that this would only be conducted under strict measures: face masks must be worn, public meetings will be limited, and chains of infection will be traced back thoroughly.

Germany has drawn up a list of measures which authorities say should be abided to when returning to normal life after the end of confinement on April 19, these include the obligation of wearing masks in public, limits to public gatherings and the rapid trace of chains of infection.

The proposals which make up a draft plan of action complied by the Ministry of Interior says the measures should be enough to keep the number of people infected by each person below one.

For this to be possible, there will need to be mechanisms out into place which can track more than 80 per cent of the people who have been in contact with an infected person in the last 24 hours of a diagnosis. In exchange, schools will be able to reopen depending on the decision of each region and the, currently strict, border controls will be relaxed.

Germany is currently the fourth country with the highest number of coronavirus infections in the world, however it has been one of the nations with the least drastic containment measures in comparison to Spain or Italy.

Since March 22, there has been a partial closure of public life and some restrictions on personal contact such as prohibitions on more than two people gathering in public outside.

Schools and kindergartens were also made to close, and only a few shops dedicated to supplying food or medication were allowed to open.

However, the decision is not final, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, announced last week that she will rediscuss the situation with regional heads of government on April 19, to decide whether they should employ a relaxation of the measures.