Merkel 'pressured scientists to call for school closures'

Angela Merkel has been accused of pressuring independent scientific advisers to call for school closures as part of the coronavirus lockdown.

The Leopoldina, Germany’s national science academy, called for a hard lockdown including the closure of schools and nurseries in December.

However, regional leaders now believe the recommendation came under pressure from the chancellor's officer, Bild newspaper claimed. At the time Germany was under “lockdown lite”, with schools, nurseries and shops allowed to remain open, but Mrs Merkel was already pushing for a tougher lockdown.

The accusation came as battle lines were drawn up ahead of new talks between Mrs Merkel and the regional leaders on extending lockdown measures set for Wednesday.

With German infection numbers falling to levels last seen in October, there is growing pressure for schools and nurseries to reopen. But Mrs Merkel has so far resisted calls to ease the lockdown over fears the mutated strains of the virus first detected in Britain and South Africa could drive infections back up.

She has reportedly told party colleagues she is drawing up medium-term plans to reopen schools and nurseries, but insisted infections must fall further first.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published what leaked details of new proposals drawn up by the education ministry for the safe reopening of schools. They include smaller class sizes, staggered teaching, face masks in classrooms and regular ventilation.

The row came as the heaviest snowstorms to hit northern Germany for decades provided lockdown-weary Germans with a distraction from the coronavirus, in what local media described as “flockdown”.

Police in the central town of Fulda described conditions as “catastrophic” after deep snowdrifts saw cars and lorries stranded on long stretches of motorway. Passengers had to spend the night on a train in Lower Saxony after it was snowed in.