The number of hospital treatments due to the corona virus is currently going down. According to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, that can change quickly. He warns against the hope of contamination by the supposedly milder omicron variant.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach warns of a high number of deaths and massive restrictions on hospital treatments in the current corona wave with the highly contagious omicron variant. “We are threatened with very difficult weeks in Germany,” said the SPD politician to “Bild am Sonntag”. “In view of the currently declining number of hospitals, especially in the intensive care units, we should not feel safe.”
The situation in the clinics will worsen again, he said. At the moment, it is mainly the younger people who are ill who have many contacts. If the elderly become infected, the number of hospital admissions will increase again. “Depending on how things develop, it can become scarce not only in the intensive care units, but also in the normal wards. There is a risk of entire departments being closed,” said Lauterbach. “An epidemic means that hundreds of thousands will become seriously ill and we will again have to complain about many thousands of corona deaths.”
First episodes in the hospitals
According to the German Hospital Society (DKG), hospitals are already feeling the first effects of the omicron wave through more patient admissions with Covid diseases. “We are already seeing this increase in the normal wards in some regions, for example in Bremen, Berlin, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein,” said the President of the German Hospital Society, Gerald Gass, of the “Augsburger Allgemeine” (Monday edition). “In contrast to previous waves, more patients will arrive in the normal wards in the coming weeks, since the likelihood of having a severe course is lower at Omicron,” he explained.
According to Lauterbach, a decision will be made at the next conference of prime ministers on January 24 whether the measures currently in force are sufficient. However, he rejects school closures or a lockdown. He prefers a different route: “I think a lot about adding to the booster incentives for medical reasons. So that it makes an even bigger difference whether I have the third vaccination or not.
Source From: Stern
