Critical corona situation, tightened tone: Both Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron recently distributed properly to unvaccinated people. Only Germany’s Chancellor has so far held back.
The tone becomes rougher. A noticeable change in communication can currently be observed, especially in countries that are severely affected by the omicron wave. The more the number of corona cases increases, the sharper the tone will be towards those who contribute to the pandemic by rejecting the vaccination.
A few days ago, French President Emmanuel Macron made headlines with a verbal slip. “I really want to see her [die Ungeimpften] to annoy, so we will continue to do this until the end, “had the newspaper”Le Parisien“Quoted Macron. However, since the French word for” to annoy “(” emmerder “) originally meant” to cover someone with excrement “, the president’s unusually coarse words caused an international sensation.
But Macron is not alone with his criticism. Even the British Prime Minister is slowly getting enough. “I would like to say to those who oppose the vaccination, to the people who spread this hocus-pocus on social media: You are completely wrong,” said Boris Johnson on Thursday. These people would “tell utter nonsense about vaccination”.
Boris Johnson: Healthcare “at war”
What United Kingdom and France have in common is the currently critical corona situation. The UK reported a new high of 218,724 new infections on Tuesday. In England alone is meanwhile every 15th tested positive. Even if the number of deaths and Covid-19 intensive care patients is not yet increasing significantly, the omicon wave is pushing British clinics to their limits.
This is mainly due to the fact that the virus is pulling more and more hospital staff out of circulation. Several thousand employees are now absent, said Matthew Taylor, head of the NHS national health system. Many hospitals have already reported “life-threatening incidents” because of the shortage of staff. In parts of the north of England, heart attack patients have been asked by 911 to take a taxi instead of waiting for an ambulance, because there are no longer enough paramedics.
Boris Johnson warned that the NHS was in a “state of war” and unceremoniously activated the military. Around 1,800 army personnel are already driving ambulances across the country, administering corona vaccinations and caring for hospital patients, Defense Minister Ben Wallace announced on Friday. Around 200 more soldiers are now to be sent to London to support the hospital staff. “It’s a tragedy that the NHS is under so much pressure that our doctors and nurses are in so much trouble,” said Johnson. In this situation, there is no need for people to spread untruths about the protective corona vaccination.
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Macron wants to tighten rules for unvaccinated people
In France, too, the omicron variant ensures new highs – Most recently there were more than 332,000 infections in one day. The higher the numbers rise, the more the government is forced to take countermeasures with more stringent measures. Emmanuel Macron should be aware that he is not making himself particularly popular in the middle of the election campaign. Already in the summer, the mandatory vaccination for health workers and the nationwide 3G rules resulted in mass protests.
With new restrictions, the government wants to specifically target the approximately five million unvaccinated people. From mid-January, 3G is to become largely 2G – the vaccination and convalescence status is to be checked with a so-called health pass. A negative corona test is therefore no longer sufficient for access to cinemas, bars and long-distance trains. First, however, the Senate still has to approve the controversial bill.
It is precisely these stricter measures that Macron alluded to when he spoke of wanting to continue to “annoy” unvaccinated people. The President defended himself on Friday that he was fully committed to his statements. “In my opinion, it was my responsibility to (…) sound a little alarm,” said Macron, and that is exactly what he did.
Scholz: “It’s up to us how difficult the challenge will be”
In view of the increasing numbers, the pressure on the new traffic light government is also growing in Germany. On Friday, the seven-day incidence rose to 303.4, with the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) assuming an even higher number of unreported cases. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the prime ministers of the federal states therefore met in the afternoon for another conference to tighten the corona rules. In addition to shortened quarantine times for those boosted, 2G-Plus is to come nationwide for the catering sector. Read an overview of the new rules here.
Like France, Germany is taking the path of motivating the unvaccinated to vaccinate with more and more restrictions. True to the motto “Everything that is fun is only for vaccinated people”. In contrast to his British and French counterparts, however, Scholz has not found such clear words for vaccination opponents. Although the Chancellor again emphasized after the MPK how important vaccinations and boosters are, he put the focus on the “joint” efforts. “It’s up to us how difficult the challenge will be,” said Scholz.
That is only partially true. Unvaccinated people in particular have an increased risk of contracting the coronavirus, of becoming seriously ill and of infecting others. More than 3,600 Covid-19 patients are currently being treated in intensive care units in Germany – according to the latest RKI report the clear majority is unvaccinated. Particularly with the rapidly expanding variant of the omicron, there is a risk that there will be a shortage of staff in critical infrastructures such as hospitals, the fire brigade and the police. But instead of verbally tying up those unwilling to vaccinate, the Social Democrat continues to use his carrot method. He did not want to divide Germany and be “also the chancellor of the unvaccinated”, Scholz already affirmed middle of December.
However, Scholz showed the first sign that the tone is also tightening in Germany with a clear “Yes” to the general compulsory vaccination. While the Chancellor had last kept a low profile in the debate that blossomed again at the beginning of the year, he now added: It is good if there is a general compulsory vaccination, emphasized Scholz. It remains to be seen how much the corona situation will have to worsen so that the Federal Chancellor can find similarly clear words for opponents of vaccinations.
Sources: “BBC“,”Guardian“,”France 24“,”DW“, Reuters, with DPA material