Merkel urges errant German states to stick to virus plan

BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday pleaded with Germany's 16 federal states to stop straying from agreed pandemic measures, with her CDU party's ratings plummeting as the country stumbles in its virus response.

"We need action in the federal states," Merkel said in an interview with the ARD broadcaster.

"We have to take the appropriate measures very seriously. Some states are doing it, others are not yet doing it," she said.

At a tense meeting last week, Merkel and the regional leaders agreed to stick to shutdown measures including an "emergency brake" to be applied in regions with high incidence rates.

The plans envisage curfews in areas with more than 100 new infections per 100,000 people over seven days -- a measure that Merkel on Sunday said would be a "very effective tool".

But under Germany's federal system, each state can ultimately decide its own rules and some have failed to impose curfews and gone ahead with reopening measures, despite fierce criticism.

The small southwestern state of Saarland has said it plans to end its shutdown completely and open leisure, sports and entertainment facilities after Easter to those who can provide a negative test.

"If we are creating the impression that we can still open things -- that is not the order of the day at the moment," Merkel said.