President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said Germany should consider honoring those who have died of COVID-19. His remarks come as the number of coronavirus cases has seen an uptick in the past few weeks.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Soeder
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German president moots COVID-19 victims' memorial
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German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has suggested that Germany should hold an official memorial for those who have lost their lives to the pandemic, because many of them had to die without their loved ones by their side.
"A corona death is a lonely death," Steinmeier told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland media group on Saturday. "We need to help people with their grief, and think about how we express our sympathy."
Those infected by the disease are required to be treated by health care workers in isolation to ensure that the virus doesn't spread. This means that those who die of the novel coronavirus often do not get a last chance to see their family.
Steinmeier said he needed to talk to other government bodies before confirming that a memorial ceremony could be held.
"We have 9,300 dead to mourn," he said. "That is three times as many deaths in six months as our annual death toll from traffic accidents. We shouldn't overlook that."
Steinmeier added that focusing on the numbers won't comfort those who have lost a loved one.
Isabella Heuser-Collier, a professional psychologist at the Charite hospital in Berlin, told DW that it is too soon to hold a memorial.
"If somebody has lost a loved one without he or she being able to be at the bedside, that is a horrible horrible scenario," before adding that reminding people of that fact now, before the pandemic is over, would not be helpful.
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Uptick in coronavirus cases
Steinmeier's comments come amid rising COVID-19 cases in the country. The Robert Koch Institute, Germany's center for disease control, reported Saturday that it had recorded 1,378 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, bringing Germany's overall case count to 248,997. There have been 9,324 virus-related deaths in Germany since the first case was recorded in the country earlier this year.
COVID-19 Travel Diaries: A road trip through Germany
DW's Emily Gordine and Olivera Zivkovic are on a two-week camping tour through Germany and want to find out what it is like to travel during the coronavirus pandemic. Read our daily updates here.
Image: DW/O. Zivkovic/E. Gordine
Day 1: Let's hit the road!
Today our trip through Germany begins — we'll be traveling from the Baltic Sea to the Alps! Camping holidays are extremely popular this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, it was not easy to book a camper van, but we finally managed to get one in Leipzig. Today we'll take the train from Berlin to the pick-up station. The camper van will be our mobile holiday home for two weeks.
Image: DW/E. Yorck
Day 2: Hello Rügen!
Our first stop is the Baltic Sea island of Rügen. We arrived late at 10.15 pm. Initially we went to the wrong camp site but didn't realize our mistake until the next morning as we'd parked our camper in front of the closed gates and slept there! Now, we've found the right camp site and can explore the island. We are delighted that our adventure has begun and look forward to sharing it with you.
Image: DW/E. Yorck
Day 3: All aboard!
The early bird catches the... BOAT! Today we got up early for a boat tour of Rügen's coastline. It took us to the famous chalk cliffs and the northern edge of the island to Cape Arkona. The cliffs reach up as far as 160 meters (525 ft.) into the sky. Unfortunately it started to rain and our planned wind surfing lesson was canceled. Something to be prepared for as part of a German holiday: rain!
Image: DW/O. Zivkovic
Day 4: High above the trees
Today was our last day on Rügen island and it again started with a lot of rain. But that didn't dampen our exploration of the island. After a quick coffee and some breakfast, we headed to the treetop walk in Prora that led us to a gigantic tower, where the view was phenomenal — even in the rain. In the afternoon we got back into our camper van to head to Berlin — our next stop on our road trip.
Image: DW/E. Gordine
Day 5: Berlin by kayak
After fixing the water pump that was giving us some grief during the night, we drove into the city. At Treptower Park we met up with Check-in presenter Nicole for a paddle along the Spree. Now we're tired and our arms are hurting but it was great!
Image: DW/Emily Gordine & Olivera Zivkovic
Day 6: A visit to the Mauerpark in Berlin
As it was Sunday we decided to head over to the Mauerpark, where the largest flea market of Berlin takes place. Back in the days, the Berlin wall crossed through the park. Nowadays, it’s a place where people come together to sing, dance, eat and buy things. There were a lot of people visiting the market and the surrounding park – some social distanced and even wore a mask, others didn’t.
Image: DW/O. Zivkovic
Day 7: Chilling in Berlin
We have already experienced so much! That's why we have taken a day off today - with breakfast in a café. But we are already thinking about our next destination: Saxony Switzerland. This extreme rocky landscape near Dresden is unique. So after the metropolitan air, we're off to the countryside again. We're very curious about what we'll find.
Image: DW/E. Gordine & O. Zivkovic
Day 8: Hiking in Saxon Switzerland
Our camp site lies right next to the river Elbe, meaning we enjoy a gorgeous view every time we step out of our van. Hills rise up on both sides of the river, and to our left the Königstein castle towers over the entire valley. During our hours-long hike through the countryside we got a bit lost, but it didn’t matter: Everywhere we went the nature was spectacular!
Image: DW
Day 9: Rock climbing
This morning we headed over to the Pillars of Hercules, an array of large sandstone rocks which belong to the Saxon Switzerland National Park. Our challenge for today? Climb the rocks - despite both suffering from fear of heights. But thankfully, our guide Bernd was encouraging. We ended up climbing up two rocks. Getting to the top and seeing the view over the sandstones was truly breathtaking!
Image: DW/O. Zivkovic/E. Gordine
Day 10: Sightseeing in Bamberg
Unfortunately, the weather was bad again but we did a nice tour around Bamberg. Its historical town center is a UNESCO World Heritage site: the title is well-earned! Half-timbered houses and imposing buildings make the Franconian city unforgettable. We went to Bamberg Cathedral, to the Town Hall (pictured) and strolled through the historical alleys.
Image: DW/Emily Gordine & Olivera Zivkovic
Day 11: No campsite but hotel
We arrived in Munich late last night. A bad smell welcomed us upon arrival and there were barely any lights to guide us through the caravan jungle. The sanitary facilities were dirty and dotted with slugs and insects. The next morning we tried to find another campsite but weren’t lucky: all booked out. We are now in a hotel. After the bad start our sightseeing tour in Munich can finally begin!
Image: Privat
Day 12: A fantastic day in Munich
We wandered to the English Garden where we stared in awe at the surfers riding the famous Eisbach wave. We also listened to the chiming of the New Town Hall bells at Marienplatz square and watched the small figures in the facade twirling around. Something that really struck us was that most tourists were German. It's strange to see an absence of foreigners in one of Germany's most visited cities.
Image: DW/O. Zivkovic
Day 13: Windsurfing at Lake Starnberg
Today we went windsurfing at Lake Starnberg. By the end of the day, we weren't just able to stand safely on our boards but we were whizzing around, making curves and occasionally picking up some speed. It was great fun! In the evening, we head further south. Only 20 minutes into our drive we started seeing the Alps rising up on the horizon. We stopped a few times to admire the view. Fantastic!
Image: DW/O. Zivkovic
Day 14: Fairytale castle to end our road trip
Today we visited one of Germany's most popular tourist attractions - Neuschwanstein Castle. We hiked up the hill for about half an hour and then stood in line to get to the Marien Bridge where the view is just spectacular. On the bridge, larger groups are not allowed, because it is too narrow for social distancing. Moreover, all visitors have to wear face masks. Nevertheless, it was all worth it!
Image: DW/Emily Gordine & Olivera Zivkovic
Day 15: Bye Bye
Today our road trip through Germany unfortunately came to an end. The day was quite exhausting, because we had a long drive back from the Allgäu to Leipzig, where we returned our camper and took a train to Berlin. Now we are quite tired and will probably sleep the rest of the day. It was a great trip with many impressions!
Image: DW/ E.Gordine/O. Zivkovic
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Despite a new spike in cases, most Germans support the government's response to the pandemic, according to a new survey.
Of the roughly 1,000 people surveyed, 66% said they were satisfied with the work of the governing grand coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), the allied Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD).
A record 72% of respondents said they were satisfied with the work of Merkel herself. It is thought that a large part of the support is thanks to the government's proactive measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
