German interior minister REFUSES TO SHAKE MERKEL’S HAND amid coronavirus scare (VIDEO)

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer declined a friendly handshake with his boss Chancellor Angela Merkel, as Germany scrambles to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

A short video shows Merkel approaching Seehofer and extending her hand. The German minister then signals that he’s not interested – prompting laughter from bystanders. Merkel herself seemed to be amused by the anti-germ-spreading tactic, and reportedly told Seehofer afterwards that it was “the right thing to do.”

Seehofer informed German media on Sunday that he had stopped shaking people’s hands as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus, which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan and has spread to every continent, excluding Antarctica.

Merkel reportedly implemented a similar no-handshake policy while visiting her constituency in Eastern Germany last week.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany rose to 150 on Monday, up from 129 on Sunday, the Robert Koch Institute for disease control said. The organization said that the virus now poses a “moderate” risk to the country.

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