Coronavirus in Germany: Protests and plexiglass

A morning work commute through Berlin on the tram: A few weeks ago it was empty, now most people wear masks but there is no distancing — seems about 60% full. The walk to DW: Lots of bikes, many pedestrians, many masks. In the office: More regimented, orderly — plexiglass, disinfectant, masks, distancing. Most colleagues are still working from home.

A couple of weeks ago, professional soccer teams started playing in empty stadiums, most children still can't go to school, but mass demonstrations are allowed. Those who don't abide by coronavirus safety measures in public face a lot of vocal criticism — as they should.

Merkel self-isolating in the chancellery again

In contrast, those who have taken to the streets to protest racial violence here and in the US, as seen last week when 15,000 took to Berlin's Alexanderplatz, have been earning praise. A statement delivered by Germany's government spokesman Monday sounded almost helpless in light of the impossible situation. Although he welcomed the fact that people were taking a stand against racism, he added: "It has to be possible to wear face masks and maintain at least 1.5 meters (5 feet) distance to others."

Doesn't really look that way.

It has been truly astonishing to watch the chancellor, who stepped up and took control at the beginning of the pandemic, now hand the reins to the states. She really had no other choice. With Germany's low infection rates, there was little hope she could maintain her relatively strict course for long before state leaders rebelled. But the power to act has always been with the states. 

Merkel, widely known as her nickname Mutti (mommy), knew full well that her political weight might have allowed her to slow the unraveling of the uneasy federation of partners, but there was no way it was ever going to stop it. Now, she is back where she started — before her impressive address to the nation weeks ago — in the chancellery.

Thus, we probe our way toward the end of the tunnel. There is more light at the end of it now, but we aren't entirely convinced that things are better. Restaurants and bars, for instance, have not attracted nearly as many customers as hoped. It seems beer doesn't taste so great behind plexiglass. Now other stories, mainly the unrest in the US, dominate the headlines.

More worries about the toll of the coronavirus

Of late, the coronavirus has been looked at through the lens of the collateral damage it has caused to the economy, families, schools and nurseries. Thankfully, the nightmarish scenes of overburdened intensive care units never came to pass, though nearly 9,000 have died of COVID-19 in Germany. An enormous government stimulus package has been pumping money into people's bank accounts, and a staggering percentage of people say they are no longer worried about infection. Now, virologists are having a difficult time getting people to pay attention to warnings about a second wave of infections.

And who even knows how many people can legally meet? Up to 10 people from no more than two households – at least that's what the law is until June 29. It seems everyone has decided to do as they see fit.

Longing for normalcy

It remains to be seen how successful we in fact were in facing the pandemic. Most of the long-term damage has not had time to appear: Damage to the economy, to families and to our sense of security. So far, we can only move forward in the knowledge that we seem to have gotten through things better than other countries — or maybe we just got lucky. Either way, that is a great relief. But that could also lead Germany to rush its return to business as usual. Above all, it could lead many people to give up on abiding by shared rules.

People are longing to return to the normalcy they knew before the crisis. One can clearly see that in the governing coalition's poll numbers. That may well lead many to think, "Mutti will get it done," and perhaps even prompt wishes for her to stay on longer — but it's clear there is no going back to the status quo that defined the time before the coronavirus pandemic.

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