The first everyday restrictions are passé. But the infection process has not calmed down yet – on the contrary. After a row about a new legal framework, the federal government is calling on the states to act.
The corona infections in Germany are spreading faster. For the first time in the pandemic, more than 300,000 new cases were reported in one day, as the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Thursday.
The seven-day incidence rose to a peak of 1752.0. Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) spoke of a “heavy wave”. He called on the federal states to use the controversial new nationwide legal framework for stronger corona containment in critical regions. “There is no Freedom Day, there is no reason to slow down here.”
According to the RKI, the health authorities reported 318,387 new cases of infection nationwide in one day – a week ago it was 294,931. The seven-day incidence was above the 1000 mark in all 16 federal states and above 2000 in six states. The highest number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days was in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, now 2422.5. A further 300 deaths were registered nationwide within 24 hours. The RKI gave the number of corona-infected patients per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days on Thursday as 7.28 (Wednesday: 7.23).
Lauterbach said in the Bundestag that the current corona situation could not be accepted. It is important to stand together in order to get through “this heavy wave of the pandemic”. There are numerous regions in which hospitals are overloaded, planned interventions have to be canceled and patients have to be transferred. “The Infection Protection Act can and should be used there,” he appealed to the federal states. One or the other would have wished that the federal government would make rules for all of Germany. However, this is not possible because the health system is not overloaded throughout Germany.
The background is a new nationwide legal basis that has been in effect since Sunday. After a transition period until April 2nd, the federal states can therefore impose further restrictions for regional “hotspots”, for example with more mask requirements and access rules, if the state parliament determines a critical situation for them. In general, however, the countries are only able to set a few general protective requirements in everyday life, such as masks and tests in facilities for vulnerable groups such as nursing homes and clinics. All countries had protested against this legal solo effort by the traffic light coalition.
Criticism of patient advocates
The German Foundation for Patient Protection complained that the federal government alone was responsible for the fact that the federal states lacked important instruments. Hotspot regulations are practically not applicable, said board member Eugen Brysch. There were no instruments to measure the overloading of the healthcare system. “Facts about the bed capacity of the houses, the occupancy situation and the restrictions due to sick leave are not recorded centrally every day.”
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is extending essential protective measures under the new regulation. The state parliament approved an application by the red-red government to classify all six districts and the cities of Rostock and Schwerin as hotspots. This means that the mask requirement in indoor areas applies until April 27th.
Due to the high number of infections, Lauterbach urgently advised rapid vaccinations. The risk for unvaccinated people to become infected and become seriously ill has never been so high. He again campaigned for agreements in the Bundestag to secure a majority for general corona vaccination as a precaution for the fall. This puts it in your hands to end the pandemic for Germany this year. “We shouldn’t let this opportunity slip by.” The rate of vaccination continues to decrease. According to the RKI, 60,000 doses were injected nationwide on Wednesday – after 82,000 a week ago.
Source: Stern
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