Union parliamentary group leader Ralph Brinkhaus doubts that the new corona measures planned at the upcoming federal-state meeting will be enough “to break this wave”. He thinks the contact restriction, which continues to apply to ten vaccinated or recovered people, is too broad if the Omikron wave should hit the ground, said the CDU politician to the broadcasters RTL and ntv. “I think you can definitely go down there again.”
In the program “Frühstart”, Brinkhaus also criticized the fact that, according to the resolution proposed by the Prime Minister’s Conference, bars, pubs and clubs should not be closed across the board. “If I had to decide, I would have said bars and discos, that is certainly not necessary at the moment.” One also has to be particularly careful in the catering trade. If necessary, closings are also necessary here.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the Prime Ministers of the federal states will meet at noon for a video conference to discuss how to proceed. Another topic is higher access limits for the catering industry. Recovered or vaccinated people who have not yet been “boosted” may need an additional current test in the future for the restaurant or café.
The CDU politician Brinkhaus criticized Scholz and accused him of a lack of commitment to fighting the pandemic. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Chancellery Minister Helge Braun had a very different experience than Scholz now. “The commitment was much greater there. The external visibility was also greater.” As an example, Brinkhaus cited the implementation of the federal emergency brake in spring 2021. At that time, Merkel put herself at the forefront of the movement despite great resistance. “I actually expect Olaf Scholz to take on the same role now.” (07.01.2022)
Kretschmer urges nationwide comparable rules
Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer has spoken out in favor of similar protective measures nationwide before the corona round by the federal and state governments. “We need comparable regulations throughout the Federal Republic of Germany. No major events, no visitors in the stadiums – and a level of contact restrictions that flattens this Omikron wave,” said the CDU politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group. “I consider opening bars and discos to be irresponsible in the coming weeks.”
He also called for financial compensation for companies and institutions that are affected by restrictions. Kretschmer made it clear that vaccinated people also have to be prepared for restrictions. “We’re in the same boat together. If everyone were vaccinated, we wouldn’t be worried about this omicron variant. The reality is, of course, that those who have been vaccinated can also infect others. There will be certain restrictions for everyone.” The 2-G and 2-G plus rules should be expanded. (07/01/2022)
Incidence rises to more than 300
The nationwide seven-day incidence in Germany has risen above the 300 mark for the first time in around two weeks. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) registered 56,335 new corona infections within 24 hours. Compared to the previous day, the incidence increased from 285.9 to 303.4. The value indicates how many new infections per 100,000 inhabitants were reported in the past seven days. 264 other people died related to the virus. The incidence value has been increasing every day since the end of December, although the RKI continues to assume that new infections are under-recorded due to fewer tests and reports during the holidays and vacations.
The proportion of the more contagious Corona variant Omikron in the infection rate in Germany is increasing rapidly. In calendar week 52 (until January 2), according to reporting data from the federal states, 44.3 percent of the corona evidence examined for variants was due to Omikron, as the Robert Koch Institute wrote in its weekly report on Thursday. There is a range among the federal states of 3.2 percent in Saxony-Anhalt and 85.5 percent in Bremen.
A week earlier, the value was given as 15.8 percent. The count includes both evidence by genetic analysis (whole genome sequencing) and suspected cases based on so-called variant-specific PCR tests.
The proportion of the delta variant, which until a few weeks ago almost exclusively dominated the infection process, is continuously decreasing, writes the RKI. The so-called random sample data are more meaningful, even if less up-to-date than the reporting data. Only complete genome sequences from randomly selected samples are included here. According to the RKI, the Omikron share in calendar week 51 (until December 26th) was 20 percent compared to 9 percent in the previous week. (07.01.2022)
Lauterbach: “Gastronomy is a problem area”
In view of the Omikron variant of the corona virus, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) considers more contact restrictions in the catering trade to be necessary. In the program “RTL Direkt” he said on Thursday evening that it was planned for the interior of the restaurant, “that you can only enter there if you have been vaccinated and tested twice. Only those who have been boosted can get in that way.”
Lauterbach explained before the Prime Minister’s Conference: “Gastronomy is a problem area. You often sit for hours without a mask. And when the people there then infect each other, as we see a lot at Omikron, then we need better protection, therefore 2 G plus, that is, vaccinated and additionally tested. ” Lauterbach did not rule out further contact restrictions for the future.
The Bavarian Hotel and Restaurant Association rejected the idea of introducing 2 G plus in the catering industry. “I warn against panicking actionism, 2 G plus plunges businesses into existential need with no added value for the infection process,” said the President of the Bavarian Hotel and Restaurant Association, Angela Inselkammer, on Thursday evening. “In January, which is already extremely weak in terms of sales, the planned decision would be equivalent to a quasi-lockdown. For many companies, further opening would no longer pay off.” (07.01.2022)