Bavarian Premier Soeder: Too soon to end German lockdown

Ahead of the meeting between the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and 16 federal state premiers on Wednesday, Bavarian leader Markus Soeder said that it is too soon to lift the lockdown in the country.

Key quotes

“I think, basically, the lockdown will have to be extended for the time being.”

“There is no point in just breaking it off now. Imagine: we open everything in one fell swoop, then within two, three weeks we will be in a situation may be even worse than before.”

“If we make a mistake now, we will have a third wave.”

“Wednesday’s meeting would nonetheless have to produce a vision for a way out of lockdown.”

Meanwhile, Reuters reported Friday that Merkel is considering extending Germany’s lockdown by two weeks at Wednesday’s meeting to discuss whether to ease the restrictions from February 15, or extend a lockdown.

Euro zone’s economic powerhouse reported 4,535 new coronavirus cases as of Monday, with 158 deaths.

Market reaction

The comments have little to no impact on the euro, as EUR/USD trades almost unchanged on the day at 1.2038.