The German government has approved another large aid package to help companies and individuals affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The aid package breaks six years of balanced budgets by borrowing €156 billion to finance it. The government announced that it will give small companies and self-employed people aid of up to €15,000 each over three months.
The decision was made at a Cabinet meeting that Chancellor Angela Merkel joined by telephone. Merkel went into home quarantine after learning that a doctor who administered a vaccination to her had tested positive for the coronavirus. The new package comes on top of a previous pledge of at least €460 billion in loan guarantees to help Europe’s biggest economy handle the fallout from running down public life to a minimum.