‘Mistake is mine’: Merkel makes U-turn on Easter shutdown plan

German chancellor backtracks on a hastily-arranged proposal, calling it a ‘mistake’ that she was responsible for.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ditched a plan for a five-day shutdown over Easter to try to contain a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic after the hastily-conceived proposal triggered a backlash. At talks that ran into the early hours of Tuesday, Merkel and the leaders of Germany’s 16 states had agreed to call on citizens to stay at home for five days over the Easter holidays, declaring April 1 and April 3 as extra “rest days”. Easter Sunday is on April 4. The measure would have meant all stores, including essential ones, closing for an extra day. It would have effectively created a five-day shutdown of public life on top of existing lockdown restrictions, which have been extended until April 18.