“The virus has arrived,” she said, speaking at a news conference in Berlin, the first time she had addressed the public on the issue. She urged the whole country to help work to slow the spread of the disease, as a slower infection rate would help ease the burden on the health-care system.

If there continues to be no vaccine or treatment options, 60 to 70 percent of people in Germany could be infected, Merkel said. With older people and those with preexisting health conditions at risk, “we must make sure that we protect these people and slow the expansion of the virus,” she said.

She did not announce any new guidelines to mitigate the spread. The number of confirmed cases in the country has risen steeply in recent weeks. At least 1,296 people have been infected, and two have died.

Germany has faced criticism from some quarters for being slow to act. The country, which has a federal system, has also struggled to get states to comply with the Berlin government’s recommendations that …continued .
[Source: Washington Post]