German academy proposes conditioned easing of COVID-19 restrictions

Public life in Germany may gradually return to normal on the prerequisite that certain conditions are met, according to recommendations presented on Monday by Germany's National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina which weigh in the COVID-19 crisis policy-making.

In a statement themed "Overcoming the crisis sustainably", Leopoldina researchers recommended a mask requirement for passengers taking public transit.

In addition, they proposed the gradual reopening of schools, first for younger students and later for students of higher grades. However, since smaller children cannot adhere to the distance rules and protective measures, the operation in daycare centers should only be resumed to a very limited extent.

Many other parts of public life can gradually be normalized under certain conditions. First, retail, hospitality and government agencies could open up. Private and business trips, as well as social, cultural and sporting events, could also take place again.

However, "the prerequisite for such a gradual relaxation is that new infections stabilize at a low level and the health system is not overloaded," they emphasized, and that "the containment of the spread of the pandemic must remain a top priority."

On the topic of COVID-19 applications and data collection, the statement said "It should be possible to use voluntarily provided GPS data in combination with contact tracing," which will increase the precision of models, and allow a differentiated prediction of the pandemic course.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the academy's recommendations will be important for her determination on the path forward.

On Wednesday, she will hold a video conference with state governors to discuss next-phase responses to the COVID-19 crisis.

Germany has reported 123,016 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Monday morning, an increase of 2,537 within the past 24 hours, according to the Robert Koch Institute, the country's disease control agency.

On Sunday, for the first time in Germany, more people recovered than those recorded as actively infected. By Monday morning, the number of recovered overtook that of actively infected by over 8,000.