Angela Merkel Lays Out Plan for Germany's Gradual Reopening.
CHURCH: The coronavirus death toll in Germany now tops 7,000 with more than 168,000 cases across the country. But Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germany has made it through the first phase of the pandemic and has laid out her plan for a gradual reopening.</s>ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): If everyone observes the distancing and hygiene rules, then there is a good chance that it will remain this way, otherwise we wouldn't have made these decisions. I said we are following a bold path and we believe that with the present framework conditions, we have a chance. We don't have faith anymore that mayors, health ministers are doing good work, then we might as well pack our bags. That wouldn't be our Germany anymore.</s>CHURCH: CNN's Frederick Pleitgen joins me from Berlin. Good to see you, Fred. What a success story. Angela Merkel saying Germany has made it through the first phase of the pandemic. How is the next phase likely to look do you think?</s>FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well the next phase, as Angela Merkel said, is not going to be going back to normal, but I think that the government will put a new corona normal I think is the way they would put it. Which means that a lot of the economy is going to reopen. Things like stores are going to be reopening. That's one of the things that the Germans have put in place, that larger stores are able to open their doors once again. And then also -- this is pretty important -- restaurants, bars and cafes are going to be opening again as well. However, of course, under the current circumstances in a different way. There are strict hygiene measures that they all need to adhere to. I was already seeing some reports earlier today in German media about restaurants putting in place separator glass walls between tables, for instance. Also of course, people being required to wear masks. People when they go to restaurants, for instance, are going to have to give up their contact information in case someone in that restaurant comes down with coronavirus that the German government could trace back how that chain of infection went. So it certainly is going to be complicated. It's not going to be like before, but it certainly is some big steps as Germany continues to reopen as the German government is saying. They are continuing to push the virus back and so, therefore, they can loosen some of these restrictions. But Angela Merkel always has that warning saying people shouldn't get too lenient with all of this otherwise they could risk new infections and could risk a new lockdown as well -- Rosemary.</s>CHURCH: They have done an incredible job. And of course, as part of the lifting of these restrictions, Angela Merkel also says that Germany's top football league, the Bundesliga, can resume play later in May. How will this be done? And can we expect spectators to be there?</s>PLEITGEN: Yes, so that was actually a pretty big topic here in Germany. Football, soccer is of course almost like religion here in this country, which is not a surprise considering they won four World Cups. But yes, they are going to be able to reopen. And the Bundesliga actually put forward its own hygiene concept for being able to open once again. Part of that is that there's not going to be any spectators in the game. The Germans call that "Geist Streichholzer" or ghost matches. However, of course, they are going to be on television. And then also of course, very important is that the regimen for hygiene for the actual players, the coaches, is also going to be pretty strict. It is going to be a lot of coronavirus testing going on there as well. Thousands of tests, possibly tens of thousands of tests necessary. And in fact, in the run up to this there were 10 players and staff who actually were shown to have had coronavirus. So it's something that the league has dealt with. But meeting that hygiene concept, the league itself is going to decide when exactly the first matches are going to take place. Right now it's looking like the middle of September, possibly the 15th, possibly also all the way back to the 22nd -- Rosemary. Right, a view perhaps into the future for the rest of us. Frederick Pleitgen many thanks as always. Joining us live from Berlin. Well the message from one paramedic on the front line, anybody who says they aren't scared during this pandemic is lying to you. Ahead, the fear and anxiety many health care workers are feeling right now.