Lies are 'no way to fight the pandemic' - Angela Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that "lies and disinformation" have emerged during the coronavirus pandemic and warned against allowing hatred to spread as the world battles the virus.

"We have seen lies and disinformation, and that is no way to fight the pandemic," she said yesterday at the European Parliament in Brussels, reports the CNN.

She added the virus has highlighting the limits of ''fact-denying populism," saying, "The limits of populism and denial of basic truths are being laid bare."  

Merkel went on to say, to applause, ''democracies need truth and transparency. This is what Europe sets apart and this is what Germany will stand up for during its EU presidency."

She urged the European Union to agree on the bloc's Covid-19 recovery plan before the summer. "There is no time to lose. Only the weakest will suffer," Merkel said.