BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th April, 2020) The German opposition urged a swift return to normalcy on Thursday, with the head of the right-wing AfD faction telling the parliament that Germans would continue practicing social distancing without the Federal oversight.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned the governments of the 16 states against rushing to ease coronavirus restrictions, after calling endless debates about lifting the curbs "discussion orgies."
"Quarantine measures are happening on their own. The government's role in them is excessive. It is time we eased the limits on basic rights and handed responsibility for protection measures over to the citizens," AfD's Alexander Gauland said.
He added that a gradual end of restrictions on public life was not only economically necessary but the key to guaranteeing adequate health care for people suffering from hypertension, cancer and depression.
This was echoed by the faction leader of the pro-business liberal FDP, Christian Lindner, who said that freedom and health care should not be juxtaposed and criticized the federal government for breaking up supply chains along with coronavirus transmission chains.
Dietmar Bartsch of the left-wing Linke warned that "this crisis must not tear the community apart" by bailing out companies and planning to buy more warships while denying pensioners a basic income.
