GERMAN BUSINESSES: OPEN UP!

The head of a hotel trade group in Germany said last week that businesses are growing “increasingly desperate and angry” since the country is keeping its strict restrictions in place, according to the Financial Times.
Guido Zöllick, the head of DEHOGA, a German association of hotels and restaurants, told the paper that more and more businesses “fear for their existence.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced last month the extension of the country’s coronavirus lockdown. “Now is the time to take preventative measures against the threat of this virus,” she said.
The mandate has been in effect since December and calls on school closures, limiting household interactions, a ban on drinking alcohol in public, and all nonessential shops and services to be closed. All those on public transportation are required to wear face masks with advanced respirators.
Zöllick was reportedly joined by 40 other groups representing the hotel and tourism sector in the country. The FT reported these groups expressed dismay that Merkel once said restrictions could be eased when the country does not exceed 50 new cases per 100,000, but that figure has since changed to 35 cases per 100,000, the report said. (The report pointed out the country currently averages 58.7 cases per 100,000.)
One head of a retail trade association called the target incidence rate of 35 per 100,000 “excessive.” He said that up to 65 percent of shops in major cities plan to close their doors for good if the lockdown continues.
TRENDPOST: As we have reported, ignored by the mainstream media and politicians is the fact that the coronavirus is a dangerous disease for the elderly and those with comorbidities. About 89 percent of those who died from the virus in Germany were over 70 and 96 percent were over 60.
Rather than destroying entire economies, businesses, ruining lives, and crushing the lives and livelihoods of millions, governments should be taking measures to protect those most vulnerable to the virus… the elderly, and those suffering from pre-existing chronic conditions.