BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel conceded that the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted significant shortcomings in her country as she told the World Economic Forum on Tuesday that it has underlined the need for international cooperation on issues such as vaccines.
Germany had a relatively successful first phase of the pandemic, but saw infections shoot up during the winter months and recently passed the threshold of 50,000 deaths, Europe’s fifth-highest toll.
A lengthy second lockdown has slowly brought down the number of new cases in recent weeks. In Germany, “the speed of our action leaves a lot to be desired,” Merkel said in a speech to the forum, being held virtually rather than in its usual Davos, Switzerland venue. “Processes