German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday said up to 70 percent of her country’s population could be infected by the deadly coronavirus – stressing the need to slow its spread.

“When the virus is out there, the population has no immunity and no therapy exists, then 60 to 70 percent of the population will be infected,” she said during a press conference in Berlin.

“The process has to be focused on not overburdening the health system by slowing the virus’s spread … It’s about winning time,” she added, according to Reuters.

Merkel’s comments come after the German daily Bild assailed her handling of the outbreak, which it described as “the corona chaos.”

“No appearances, no speech, no leadership in the crisis,” the news outlet wrote.

As of Wednesday, Germany has confirmed two deaths and almost 1,300 infections.

Health Minister Jens Spahn, who is leading the country’s response, has said that sealing its borders would not work and has rejected calls to follow neighbor Austria in denying entry to visitors from Italy.

On Wednesday, he told broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that it was “astonishing” that no decision had been made on calling off a soccer match between Union Berlin and Bayern Munich scheduled for Saturday in Berlin.

It was later determined that the game will take place behind closed doors, a decision Spahn welcomed.

Under Germany’s federal system of government, the country’s 16 states and regional authorities can decide whether to heed Spahn’s advice to cancel events with more than 1,000 participants.

“The corona crisis shows that, without clear guidance, federalism in the fight against epidemics is reaching its limits,” Bild wrote.

Merkel, who noted that federalism does not mean anyone can avoid responsibility, said she would meet state premiers on Thursday to coordinate the country’s policy response to the outbreak.

With Post wires