Despite the rapidly increasing corona numbers, the British government has ruled out a new lockdown to contain the pandemic. “Thanks to the vaccines, we are in a very different situation than we were a year ago,” said British Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak in an interview with the Times. There are a number of possible measures against the spread of the virus in winter, “but these options do not include lockdowns or other significant economic restrictions.”
In the event of a worsening corona situation in England, the government provides a so-called Plan B, which, however, only includes light measures such as reintroducing the mask requirement or the recommendation to work from home again. Despite recently around 50,000 new infections per day and a sharp increase in corona deaths, the London government does not yet want to implement Plan B itself. Since mid-July there have been virtually no corona measures in England.
The immunologist Peter Openshaw, who also sits on a government advisory body, warned in a BBC interview of another “lockdown Christmas”. Unless restrictions are imposed immediately, the situation will inevitably develop dramatically. (23.10.2021)
Incidence in Germany reaches the 100 mark
The seven-day incidence in Germany has reached 100 for the first time since mid-May. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) stated the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week on Saturday morning as exactly 100.0. The previous day the value was 95.1. The health authorities in Germany reported 15 145 new corona infections to the RKI within one day. A week ago the value was 10,949 infections.
According to the new information, 86 deaths were recorded across Germany within 24 hours. A week ago there were 75 deaths. The number of corona patients admitted to clinics per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days was given by the RKI on Friday at 2.68 (Thursday 2.45). The previous high was around 15.5 around Christmas time. The number of people who died with or with a proven infection with Sars-CoV-2 rose to 95,077. (23.10.2021)
Romania adopts night curfew
The Romanian government wants to contain the latest corona wave with new lockdown measures. There is a nightly curfew nationwide starting Monday and a health pass is required for most public events. School children have two weeks vacation. Romania reported record numbers of infections and deaths this month. The hospitals are working at the limit of their capacity. The country has the second lowest vaccination rate in the European Union. (23.10.2021)
FDA: Benefits outweigh risks of vaccinating children with Biontech / Pfizer
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has for the first time evaluated the safety and effectiveness of Pfizer and Biontech’s coronavirus vaccine for children ages five to eleven and found that the benefits outweigh the risks in this age group. The FDA also released data from Pfizer showing the vaccine was 90.7 percent effective against Covid-19 in a clinical study involving five to 11 year olds. The results could help the FDA approve the vaccine for children. An expert committee of the authority wants to vote on Tuesday whether he recommends the approval. (23.10.2021)
Estimated 1.5 million vaccinations by company doctors probably not reported
The Association of German Company and Company Doctors estimates that around 1.5 million corona vaccinations were not reported in Germany for the time being. Most of the vaccinations were received through the health insurance system – how many were actually not reported, but it is unclear, said the association’s vice-president Anette Wahl-Wachendorf Editorial network Germany (RND). You expect clarifying discussions with the Robert Koch Institute. In the last few weeks there had been discussions as to whether, for these reasons, the vaccination rate could be higher than officially stated. A separate survey by the RKI had raised criticism of the authority’s figures. (23.10.2021)
Austria threatens the unvaccinated with lockdown
If the corona situation worsens dramatically, unprotected people in Austria face a lockdown. This measure can be considered if the intensive care beds are particularly busy, said the new Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) after a crisis meeting with Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) and the governors, i.e. the prime ministers of the individual federal states.
The previous three-step plan with pandemic measures will be expanded by two more steps. Level four provides, among other things, a 2-G. rule in the catering trade. Level five takes effect when 600 intensive care beds are occupied in the country. Health Minister Mückstein said those who have neither been vaccinated nor recovered will have to be prepared for massive exit restrictions. Then leaving the apartment may only be possible for valid reasons. Schallenberg ruled out a lockdown for those who had been vaccinated or recovered. He hoped that these plans would send a strong signal.
“We are about to stumble into a pandemic of unprotected unvaccinated people,” said Schallenberg. The government continues to rely on increasing the vaccination coverage, the rapid implementation of booster vaccinations and the introduction of 3G in the workplace. This applies in Austria from November 1st.
Despite the recent significant increase in the number of new infections, the situation in Austria’s intensive care units is still largely stable. The seven-day incidence is just under 230. 3582 new infections were reported on Friday, converted to the population of Germany that would correspond to around 35,000 in one day, an order of magnitude that was only reached at the height of the second wave at the end of December / beginning of January . The seven-day incidence in Germany is currently around 95, but the trend is clearly upwards. (10/22/2021)
Countries want legal protection for corona measures
The heads of the federal states agreed in the Prime Minister’s Conference (MPK) on the legal protection of the remaining corona measures. This was announced at the final press conference. The step had become apparent in advance and had become necessary because the “epidemic situation of national scope” is due to expire at the end of November. So far, it has been the legal basis for many Corona measures.
Armin Laschet, outgoing Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia and chairman of the MPK, said that federalism works in Germany. The past Prime Minister’s Conferences on Corona would have shown that. One still needs caution and mechanisms “to be able to fight this pandemic”, even if a lot has already been achieved in the fight against the virus. A legal basis is needed for low-threshold basic measures such as 2-G rules or contact tracking. This must continue to be created at the federal level, but can then be specifically designed at the state level.
Berlin’s outgoing Governing Mayor Michael Müller (SPD) said before the conference on the Petersberg in Königswinter near Bonn that a lot had been achieved in the corona pandemic, in particular through the progress in vaccination. “Only: we can’t sit back.” You can see that in an international comparison. “We want to avoid that, precisely because we have come across such a difficult path, but have now achieved so much, we don’t want to gamble it away lightly.”
So far, with the federal resolution, there has been a uniform legal framework for all states. “And in this respect we have said, in the last few months and also now: It is good that, especially in the situation before winter, we continue to have this legal framework, which enables everyone to implement the measures that we consider appropriate to be able to. ” The federal states need legal certainty for their measures, so that things like mask requirements or contact restrictions can be further regulated, at least for the transition. It is also about being better prepared for coming crises by creating your own capacities, for example with protective equipment. (10/22/2021)