Mask requirements in supermarkets & Co. are already largely a thing of the past – from May 1st, self-isolation will only be on a voluntary basis. Is the corona virus threatening to spread even more unhindered?
Isolation and avoidance of contact are only urgently recommended for people with corona infection from May 1st – will the last dams against the unhindered spread of the corona virus fall then?
Or does politics only follow current practice and pragmatically set the course? The most important questions and answers:
What is planned?
In the future, on Labor Day in three weeks, infected people will only be strongly recommended to isolate themselves for five days and avoid contacts. It provides for an agreement between the federal and state governments, which Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) announced. An order from the health department is no longer planned. Contact persons of infected people are strongly recommended to reduce contacts independently. Infected people should test themselves after five days and keep contacts reduced until the test is negative. Contacts are advised daily self-tests.
What is planned for healthcare and nursing workers?
There should be an ordered ban on activities for them in the event of infection. At the earliest on the fifth day after the onset of symptoms, this should be able to end with a quick or PCR test being taken.
How is it so far?
So far, the secretions have usually lasted ten days and can be terminated with a negative test after seven days in advance.
What is the main criticism of the plans?
“With this decision, many people get the message that you can continue to participate in public life even with a proven SARS-CoV-2 infection,” says immunologist Carsten Watzl. “This decision therefore goes in the wrong direction.” The social association VdK accused the federal and state governments of relying entirely on the “principle of infection”. “The protection of risk groups apparently no longer plays any role in politics,” criticized VdK President Verena Bentele. DGB board member Anja Piel told the German Press Agency: “Karl Lauterbach’s announcement is in fact the end of state infection control.”
How does the Minister of Health justify the quarantine easing?
“This is all about restructuring the totally overburdened health authorities so that they can do the work that is most important now,” said Lauterbach on Tuesday afternoon. They should be freed from work that is no longer going well anyway. Today, the health authorities can often only notify the isolation or quarantine cases too late, explained Lauterbach. “The news comes with a long delay and it has more of an impact on the infection process.” The planned quarantine change has nothing to do with the question of relaxation and freedom.
So what are the new rules supposed to do?
According to Lauterbach, the health authorities should be able to concentrate on the central areas where particularly vulnerable groups are affected. It is about prevention, isolation and quarantine for those who work in healthcare – i.e. employees in clinics and care facilities.
Why are the health authorities overloaded?
The background is the current omicron wave with many, but mostly mild infections. The incidence continued to fall slightly on Tuesday, but is still 1,394 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants. There were 180,397 new corona infections and another 316 corona deaths. According to a recent survey by the state development bank KfW, the burden of staff absences has also increased significantly in companies – due to illness and quarantine among the workforce and the absence of employees due to school and daycare closures.
What are the implications for employees?
In terms of sick leave, nothing changes, said Lauterbach. So far, this has nothing to do with ordering quarantine or isolation, but simply with the diagnosis. And this can be based on clinical symptoms, an antigen test or a PCR test. Then the continued payment of wages takes effect in the event of illness. The German trade union federation nevertheless warned that employees avoid voluntary isolation for fear of financial losses. “If the Minister of Health is serious about his “urgent isolation recommendation”, he must clarify how any loss of earnings due to voluntary isolation will be compensated for in the future,” said DGB board member Anja Piel.
What do the mainly affected doctors say?
The Federal Association of Public Health Physicians made its own proposal to control the spread of infection in critical areas and to relieve the health authorities of the transmission of irrelevant test results. According to the association, tests should only be carried out on an ad hoc basis, i.e. for staff in health, care and community facilities and for people with symptoms of Covid disease. If the test is positive, isolation should be carried out for five or seven days. Anyone who has been symptom-free for 48 hours should end the isolation if the rapid test is negative, according to the professional association’s proposal.
Source: Stern
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