BERLIN, November 29, Reuters - Chancellor Angela Merkel and her soon-to-be successor Olaf Scholz will hold talks with German state leaders on Tuesday about further measures to control COVID 19 cases and the spread of the new Omicron variant, government sources said.
The videocall is set to take place after the constitutional court imposes a ruling on the emergency brake law deployed last year to impose measures such as curfews and lockdowns when coronaviruses have reached specific limits.
While the law has expired, the ruling is expected to shed light on how constitutional the court deems such measures and whether they can be re-implemented as COVID 19 cases hit new record highs, straining intensive care units.
The national government is in transition after a federal election in September and the fourth wave of infections comes with it.
Scholz is going to be sworn in as chancellor next week after his centre-left Social Democrats forged a coalition deal with the ecologist Greens and libertarian Free Democrats.
The law that was introduced by the three-way coalition last week allowed only those who have been vaccinated, recently recovered or have proof of a negative test to gain entry into workplaces and public transport.