Scholz expects lighter Covid-19 restrictions this year

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed optimism that the country would require less severe Covid-19 measures this year to tackle the expected rise in cases during the autumn and winter months. His comments came as the country grapples with a summer wave of infections caused by new highly infections variants. 'There should be no more school closures and I don't think we'll need the kind of lockdown that we've had in the last years'', Scholz told the public ARD broadcaster. He spoke of a 'completely changed situation'', now that basic vaccination rates stood at 76 per cent in Germany. However, Scholz said that Covid-19 testing and compulsory mask wearing could play a greater role in the colder autumn and winter months. — dpa