Angela Merkel predicts 60% to 70% of Germans will be infected by coronavirus

As many as seven in 10 Germans should expect to suffer from the coronavirus, according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

 More than 1,600 people in Germany have been infected with the coronavirus since the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December. The country has suffered just three deaths, but Merkel expects the outbreak to affect many more citizens.

During a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, Merkel revealed that authorities expect 60% to 70% of Germany’s population to be infected with the coronavirus. She announced that lawmakers would meet on Thursday to address the illness as Germany's health minister, Jens Spahn, warned that the illness could overwhelm the country’s health system.

“We are in a situation where we don’t know many things, and what we don’t know, we have to take seriously,” Merkel explained.

The chancellor also sent well wishes to the Italian people in quarantine. On Monday, Italy announced that the entire country would be placed under lockdown as the government worked to stop the spread in one of the hardest-hit countries on the planet.

 Source:
Washington Examiner