Germany held a national memorial service on April 18 to remember the 80,000 citizens who died of coronavirus (Covid-19) and to show solidarity and comfort to their relatives. Because the virus is contagious, victims often die alone, without their loved ones in their final moments.
According to AFP, German Chancellor Chancellor Angela Merkel and German President Steinmeier went to Mass this morning at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The church is an iconic Berlin building dedicated to peace and reconciliation.
They then attended a public television broadcast of the service at the Konzerthaus, a concert hall in central Berlin, at around 11:00 GMT. President Steinmeier gave a speech there. Due to the epidemic, however, only few people were invited to attend.
“It is very important that we stop and say goodbye with dignity to all those who have died in the epidemic, including those who did not die from the coronavirus but also in solitude,” German President Steinmeier said.
AFP said the national mourning in Germany comes against the backdrop of a third wave of the epidemic that is hitting the country hard. Germany has suffered relatively little damage from the two previous waves of the epidemic. Germany had 3.14 million people infected with the coronavirus as of Sunday, of whom 80,000 had died.
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