Photo taken on April 11, 2020 shows German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivering a televised speech on COVID-19, in Berlin, capital of Germany. The coronavirus pandemic has placed Germany at a crossroads that will determine whether it recedes into fearfulness or becomes a more "considerate and hopeful" society, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said. According to the Robert Koch Institute, almost 120,000 people in Germany have tested positive for the coronavirus, and more than 2,500 have died as of Friday midnight. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
BERLIN, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The coronavirus pandemic has placed Germany at a crossroads that will determine whether it recedes into fearfulness or becomes a more "considerate and hopeful" society, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.
"We do not want to be a fearful and distrustful society," Steinmeier said in a rare televised speech, which will be broadcast on major German television networks later Saturday evening but the full text has been made available for the press.
The struggle to quell the coronavirus pandemic is "a test of our humanity." The crisis caused by COVID-19 "brings out the best and the worst in people," he said.
"This pandemic is not a war. Nations are not opposed to other nations, soldiers against other soldiers. It is a test of our humanity," said the president, who normally addresses the country at Christmas.
Steinmeier also addressed the restrictive measures imposed by the government in recent weeks, saying that their success depends "not on politicians and experts, but on all of us -- our patience and our discipline, especially now when it seems the most difficult."
The German president also called for solidarity within Europe, saying that "Germany cannot emerge from the crisis strong and healthy if our neighbors are not strong and healthy."
"We Germans are not only called upon to show solidarity in Europe, but we are also obliged to do so!" Steinmeier said.
Steinmeier said the international solidarity should bring about a global alliance to search for a COVID-19 vaccine. And that "the poorest countries in the world, who are the most vulnerable, should have equal access" to any such treatment.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, almost 120,000 people in Germany have tested positive for the coronavirus, and more than 2,500 have died as of Friday midnight.
