Leaders of Germany, France urge vigilance over virus variant

BERLIN (AP) — The leaders of Germany and France called for vigilance Friday to prevent the spread of a coronavirus variant that this week prompted Britain to delay the planned relaxation of pandemic restrictions in England.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said that while Germany has very low numbers of new COVID-19 infections at present, the “aggressive” delta variant could lead to a rise in new cases.

“We can’t pretend that corona is over,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin.

“Even though there’s a feeling on such a warm summer’s evening that it’s all over, one can see from the example of Lisbon that things can quickly change,” she said. “That’s why I think it’s necessary to be careful, so that we have a summer with many freedoms but not yet all freedoms.”

Portuguese authorities on Thursday banned travel in or out of the capital region over coming weekends in response to a spike in delta variant cases. Earlier this week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pushed back the date for lifting restrictions on social contacts by four weeks as the government reported thousands of newly confirmed cases, mostly with the delta variant.

Asked about travel related to the Euro2020 soccer tournament, Merkel it was good to see thousands of fans at the recent Germany-France match in Munich again.

“But when I see completely full stadiums in other European countries, then I’m a bit skeptical whether that’s the right answer to the current situation,” she said — a reference to Hungary, where authorities have allowed games without limiting spectator numbers.

Merkel spoke ahead of a working dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron, the first time she has hosted a foreign leader in Germany since last year.

Macron said it was important to be...