The delta variant of the corona virus is still not very common in Germany. But their share is increasing. Alarm bells are ringing for doctors – and SPD health expert Lauterbach is worried about a very specific group.
Doctors are concerned about the delta variant of the coronavirus, which is considered particularly infectious. The chairman of the World Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, raised the question of whether the current corona easing was not going too far. The chairman of the conference of health ministers, Klaus Holetschek (CDU), advised “the utmost vigilance”.
In Great Britain, the Delta variant discovered in India is spreading rapidly and, despite the high vaccination rate, is significantly increasing the number of new infections. Further easing that had already been planned has been postponed. This virus variant is still not very common in Germany, but its proportion is increasing. According to the latest report by the Robert Koch Institute, it was 6.2 percent in calendar week 22 (May 31 to June 6). In the previous week it was 3.7 percent.
Montgomery warns of early easing
The chairman of the World Medical Association, Montgomery, expects the Delta variant to spread even faster in Germany than the previous modifications. “The tricky thing about this variant is that infected people very quickly have a very high viral load in their throat and can thus infect others before they even notice that they are infected,” said Montgomery to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
He warned that FFP2 masks should still be worn in public transport, in shops and other indoor areas. Countries should check whether the announced easing did not go too far. “They should also have the political size to take back announced easing, if the infection numbers should rise again due to the Delta variant. As the British government has now done,” emphasized the doctor.
Montgomery also warned not to repeat the mistake made last summer. In 2020, the re-entry of the virus by return travelers was underestimated, and a new wave followed in autumn. “This danger is now again when many as yet unvaccinated tourists return to Germany from party vacations all over Europe.”
Lauterbach worried about unvaccinated children
“We have to monitor the proportion of the Delta variant in the new infections very closely,” said Ute Teichert, chairwoman of the Federal Association of Doctors in the Public Health Service, the Funke newspapers. The head of the association of medical officers also complained that the workforce in the health departments was still making slow progress. By the end of the year, 1,500 new posts for medical specialists are to be created at the health authorities. Most of these positions have not yet been filled.
The Bavarian Health Minister Holetschek also warned that the Delta virus variant should not be underestimated. “Its occurrence and its high degree of infection show us that we have not yet defeated Corona despite noticeably falling incidence values,” said Holetschek of the “Rheinische Post”. “We still need the utmost vigilance. Caution and prudence must continue to determine action,” emphasized the chairman of the conference of health ministers.
The SPD health expert Lauterbach assumes that the Delta variant will play the dominant role in Germany in autumn because it is so much more contagious. He hoped that this would not become a big problem, of all things, for the children who were not vaccinated, Lauterbach said in the ARD “Tagesthemen”. “The vaccinated will have no problems with the Delta variant,” emphasized the SPD politician. This virus variant does not compete with the vaccines used.
Head of the Chancellery warns fans not to travel to the EM
Chancellery chief Helge Braun advises German football fans against a trip to the crucial European Championship games. “My big concern is the spreading Delta variant in Great Britain – and London is a venue. One should not travel to virus variant areas,” said the CDU politician in an interview with the “RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland” (RND). The two semi-finals and the final of the European Football Championship will take place in the English capital.
The federal government classified the UK as a virus variant area in May. Braun emphasized in this context: “Anyone who goes to London has to be in quarantine for two weeks if they want to come to Germany.”
At the same time, he criticized the fact that the German opponents in the preliminary round, Hungary, had played their first European Championship group game against Portugal in Budapest in front of a sold-out crowd. “At the match between Germany and France in Munich we saw that distance rules can be adhered to. I find a full stadium next to it,” said Braun.
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