“It is serious,” she said. “Take it seriously.”
Merkel’s remarks were an indication that the weight of the pandemic was being felt in Berlin, where some criticized that as a slow and haphazard German response, lacking in central leadership.
“This really is a stress test for our federal system,” said Alexander Kekulé, who heads the institute of medical microbiology at the University of Halle.
Germany as of Wednesday had officially recorded 12 deaths linked to the coronavirus, but officials agree that figure will no doubt rise. Merkel has called on all Germans to play their part to limit the damage.
“I’m absolutely sure we will overcome this crisis,” she said in her speech. “But how many casualties will there be? How many loved ones will we lose?”
To a large extent, it is in “our hands,” Merkel added.
“These are not simply abstract numbers in statistics, but that is a father or grandfather, a mother or grandmother, a partner,” she said. “And we are a community in which every life and every person counts.”
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