Deep in the night, in the heart of Berlin’s concrete chancellery building, Angela Merkel was at a loss.
A tense videoconference with senior officials that began Monday afternoon had been at a standstill for almost eight hours. Germany needed something from the government to regain control of the coronavirus outbreak, but the chancellor had nothing that could win the backing of the country’s powerful state leaders.
In a mix of desperation and exhaustion, 66-year-old Merkel turned to her chief of staff Helge Braun, according to a person with knowledge of the exchange. "Do you have any other idea?” she said. Braun, a trained doctor, suggested a five-day hard lockdown over the Easter weekend.