I have a YMA Visa - will Germany let me into the country despite COVID-19?

If you have a company you planned on working for, you might ask them if remote working is okay/posbible. Basically all jobs that can be done remote are doing this right now.

Do you already have a residence arranged in Germany, as in apartment already located and contract signed? If not, you might have a hard time being let in, and even if you are allowed in, might have practical problems getting housing, both long-term and short-term, as hotels are not supposed to rent rooms to tourists right now, foreign or domestic.

Another thing to consider: you have not registered with the town you are going to live in ("Anmeldung" is separate from residence permit, and only possible once you have an address) so Germany does not have a place that it considers your habitual residence yet. As you are not coming back to something, your entry is likely to be considered non-essential, unless you're coming over here to work on something related to the pandemic.

On a daily life level, you're not going to be able to buy anything other than groceries, because pretty much anything that's not a grocery store, drugstore or pharmacy is closed, and there's no scheduled re-opening date. You're not going to go to classes or lectures, you're not going to visit any museums or historical sites and you're not going to see any performances - all of those things are closed through at least the end of the scheduled Easter holidays (19 April). Restaurants are delivery/carry-out only.

We've been spared Italy-level suffering so far, but I would seriously not move here right now. Stay in Canada until things have calmed down a bit.

A Youth Mobility Visa is a D-Visa (i.e. longer-term visa) and therefore does not generally fall under the ban

• as opposed to a C-Visa which does

From: Federal Minister Seehofer ordered extensive restrictions on entry at Germany’s external Schengen borders in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus:

The same applies [extensive restrictions on entry] to third-country nationals with a longer-term right of residence (residence title or longer-term visa) in an EU member state or one of the countries mentioned above.
...
But travel for tourist purposes by third-country nationals with a Schengen visa is no longer permitted. Whether to continue operating cross-border public transport (local and regional) is a matter for the relevant federal states to decide.

Check the entry on the sticker Type of Visa

• when D, an Airline should allow you to board

An urgent reason or essential travel is, however, needed to enter the country, which will be determined at the port of entry.

Since the main purpose of the Youth Mobility Visa is:

to complement their post-secondary education, acquire hands-on work experience, and improve their knowledge of the other country’s language, culture and society.

this will likely be considered non-essential travel until (at least) May.

If your visa was issued before the ban was in place, you should contact the issuing consulate and seek (in writing) confirmation that the purpose is considered essential.

Without such a confirmation you should reconsider traveling at all.

I have been issued a national visa, but I am not able to leave Canada as planned due to COVID-19. Can the visa be re-issued with an updated travel date?
Your visa has been issued for a certain period of time (90+ days). If you are not able to leave before the expiry date of your visa, you must submit a new visa application. A processing fee will be charged. We recommend booking an appointment with the local aliens authority in Germany prior to leaving Canada. This way, your residence permit can be issued shortly upon arrival. Please note that the processing fee of your original visa application cannot be reimbursed.

What are urgent reasons for crossing the border?
The decision of whether a personal journey is an urgent ground for crossing the border is at the discretion of the border official. Federal Police officers are experienced in this type of decision-making, which is part and parcel of the role of border police.

Sources:

• Work and Travel in Germany with the Youth Mobility Visa - Federal Foreign Office
  • Coronavirus and entry restrictions: 4 things travelers to Germany need to know - Federal Foreign Office
  • BMI - Civil Protection - Coronavirus: Frequently Asked Questions
    • BMI - Bevölkerungsschutz - Coronavirus: Fragen und Antworten (German version)
  • BMI - Press - Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer orders far-reaching travel restrictions for international air and sea traffic
    • BMI - Presse - Bundesinnenminister Seehofer ordnet weitreichende Reisebeschränkungen im internationalen Luft- und Seeverkehr an (German version)

You will almost certainly be refused boarding by the airline or be turned away at the border by immigration.

Germany has enacted an entry ban on all non-citizens, with the only exceptions being for certain travellers transiting to get to their home country or travellers seeking entry into Germany for urgent reasons.

Unless you have an urgent reason to enter Germany, your work visa will not secure your entry at this point in time.