Coronavirus: Angela Merkel's interior minister refuses to shake her hand amid fears over outbreak
The interior minister of Germany, on Monday, refused to shake Chancellor Angela Merkel's hand amid growing concern for the spread of the deadly coronavirus in the country. The minister, Horst Seehofer, appeared to rebuff Merkel's outstretched hand towards him at a summit in Berlin. Seehofer has reportedly instated a self-imposed handshake ban and refused to make an exception for the chancellor.
Merkel, however, did not appear to mind the rebuff and quickly withdrew her hand while laughing with the Bavarian minister. She took the gesture in good spirits and said, "That is the right thing to do," as she took her seat while guests at the meeting laughed at the incident.
Seehofer, while addressing the German media on Sunday, had said that he had stopped shaking people's hands, and added that he hoped a vaccine for the deadly coronavirus would be found soon. The coronavirus infection, known as Covid-19, has claimed over 3,000 lives globally so far and has infected nearly 100,000 people, with most of the cases reported in China.
When asked whether Germany would close off access to cities or regions to curb the spread of the virus, the minister said that "such a scenario would be a last resort."
"I estimate that a vaccine will be available by the end of year," he told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, according to the Daily Mail.
Although Merkel and Seehofer's handshake incident seemed devoid of any political connotations, the two have had a tense relationship over the past few years, with the interior minister taking a hard line on refugees after the chancellor opened Germany's doors in 2015.
Merkel, in a similar move to Seehofer, had told an audience in her constituency on Sunday that she would not be shaking hands with anyone at the event. Germany has not yet issued a warning against handshakes although French health minister Olivier Veran had recently recommended that people refrain from the greeting practice. Germany has a total of 150 confirmed cases in the country as of Monday, according to Lothar Weiler of the Robert Koch Institute disease control agency.