Frankfurt, Germany. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has spoken out against further relaxing coronavirus restrictions in the country, citing the recent rise in the number of new cases. Merkel says Germany is “in the middle of the pandemic” and called on Germans to respect social distancing and hygiene rules. Speaking after a meeting with the governor and ministers of North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, Merkel expressed support for uniform rules for some aspects of the pandemic. Germany’s disease control agency on Tuesday reported 1,390 new confirmed coronavirus cases.-AP

Source: The Standard August 18, 2020 14:37 UTC