For roughly six weeks, Chancellor Merkel has avoided discussions over the Coronavirus. There might have been a two-liner here and there, but it was the least amount of 'talk' possible.
So today.....that all changed.
The Chancellor showed up at the morning government press conference (something that she almost never does) and gave a full-up discussion.
ARD (public TV, Channel One) covered the entire event.
She was blunt (as almost all of her pep-talks of the past fifteen years). When they are given....it's like some college professor at the lecture podium.
Her talk? No vaccine. No therapy. No wonder-drugs. You need to accept the fact that sixty-to-seventy percent of Germans will have the virus before the vaccine comes onto the market.
Her emphasis? To delay the spread....pure and simple. Germany doesn't need 50,000 folks a week coming down with the virus, and ten-percent of them showing up at hospitals with serious cases.....for bed space that probably won't exist at that level.
As she said....this is mostly about delaying this and preventing the virus getting to older folks, and the fragile Germans (those with conditions that make them prime candidates for serious problems).
So between her, the virus expert, and the Minister of Health (Spahn)....it was a fairly upbeat press conference. If you were looking for a miracle.....well, it's non-existent, and as a traditional German.....you need to be strong, and make the best out of a bad situation.
Negativity? Well....it kinda reminded one of the migration speech from five years ago....."We can do it". Maybe it's her style or just the speech-writers within the team that trigger that view.
Changing anything? No. If you were unsettled by the whole business....you probably haven't changed your attitude, and spent three hours talking to your co-workers about your fears. If you were not fazed by the virus, and don't think it's a big deal.....things are pretty much going the way you expected (you worry about the shortage of toilet paper, than the virus). If you had tickets to this weekend's soccer games which will be played, but no fans allowed entry? Well....you might be overly peeved at this point.
Life goes on....at least in the German frame of things.
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