A new coronavirus variant discovered in southern Africa is causing concern. And doubts are growing that the measures taken so far against Corona in Germany will be enough.
In view of the significantly increasing number of corona infections and a new virus variant in southern Africa, concerns about a severe pandemic in Germany this winter are growing.
The federal government will restrict entry from South Africa and seven other African countries from Sunday. Cities and municipalities called for stricter measures against the virus. The chairman of the World Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, warned of the emergence of even more dangerous variants of the corona virus.
Lauterbach worried about the Omikron variant while the wave is running
The SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach said in the ARD “Tagesthemen” that if the possibly dangerous variant would also reach Germany, it would be a huge problem. “Because there is nothing worse than getting a particularly dangerous variant into a running wave.” The variant seems to be dangerous for vaccinated and unvaccinated people. “That’s why we have to work with travel restrictions here, every day that can be won before this variant comes up really counts here.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) classified the coronavirus variant B.1.1.529 as “worrying” on Friday. Experts fear that the many mutations in the variant will cause the pathogen to spread faster or that the vaccines will lose their protective effect.
Because of the variant, the federal government is classifying South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Eswatini, Malawi and Lesotho as virus variant areas from Sunday, midnight, as the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Friday evening.
Airlines are essentially only allowed to carry German citizens or people living in Germany from there to Germany. But it is not a flight ban. A two-week quarantine obligation applies to those entering the country – including those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered. It cannot be shortened by negative tests either. Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) had previously said that the effects of the variant on disease severity, infectivity and vaccination protection had not yet been finally clarified.
“In parts of Germany it will not work without a lockdown”
The chief executive of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, Gerd Landsberg, told the German Press Agency: “Our health system is reaching its limits, the number of infections is increasing unchecked.” Full football stadiums and major events sent a completely wrong signal, he said. The measures decided so far by the federal and state governments have evidently not been sufficient to effectively combat the pandemic.
“In parts of Germany with extremely high incidence numbers, it will not work without a lockdown,” said Landsberg. “With the end of the epidemic emergency, however, the necessary legal basis is missing.” Here the future traffic light coalition of the SPD, Greens and FDP is called upon to determine the epidemic emergency again in the Bundestag before the Christmas break in order to open up the necessary options for action. The epidemic ended on November 25th. At the same time, a legal basis was created for further requirements in the fight against the pandemic.
The German Association of Cities also considers tightening of measures to be inevitable in the fight against the pandemic. “If the situation continues to get out of control, there is no way around renewed contact restrictions,” said City Council President Markus Lewe of the German Press Agency in Berlin. “We have to contain the corona pandemic again. We mustn’t wait until the intensive care units across the country are overcrowded. Every day counts.”
Lauterbach said on ARD: “In fact, the infection process is more aggressive than expected.” The measures would have worked, contacts decreased somewhat. “But it is not yet where it should be, and it will definitely be necessary for us to re-sharpen it, I assume that too.” In particular, what is causing major problems is that the controls of 2G and 2G-plus are not taking place adequately at all. In addition, there are still too many large events. “And it is precisely these big events and also the full bars, the full shops that cause us problems.”
Dispute over future course in corona crisis
Union politicians asked the future governing parties SPD, Greens and FDP to quickly name a contact person for Corona. The incumbent Chancellery Minister Helge Braun (CDU) said “Bild”: “We urgently need a clear, competent contact person in the future government.” Braun coordinates the corona policy of the executive federal government of the Union and the SPD.
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) also said: “We cannot wait ten days for a new health minister to take office.” A team of old and new ministers is needed immediately. “The traffic light must not delay Corona, there is a risk of a national corona drama.” According to the plans of the traffic light parties, the SPD gets the health department. The SPD does not want to appoint its ministers until after the party congress in early December.
In view of the long waiting times for the giving of booster vaccinations, FDP parliamentary group vice Michael Theurer demanded a “right to a prompt vaccination” for citizens. It cannot be that you have to wait months for a vaccination or booster appointment, “he told the German Press Agency. As soon as enough vaccine is available, pharmacies and dentists should also be able to offer vaccinations.
The seven-day incidence has again peaked. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) stated the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week on Saturday morning as 444.3. For comparison: the previous day the value was 438.2, a week ago it was 362.2 (previous month: 118.0). The health authorities in Germany reported 67,125 new corona infections to the RKI within one day. This is evident from the numbers that reflect the status of the RKI dashboard at 4:11 a.m. According to the new information, 303 deaths were recorded across Germany within 24 hours.
Union parliamentary group leader Ralph Brinkhaus brought forward the Christmas holidays because of the dramatic situation. He told “Welt am Sonntag”: “Should the situation worsen, I believe that we should also think about starting the Christmas holidays one to two weeks earlier, in order to reduce contacts in schools, for example.”
Source From: Stern
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