In view of the rapidly increasing numbers of infections and patients, the Netherlands has imposed a partial lockdown. The tightened measures should initially apply for three weeks, announced Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague.
From Saturday, restaurants and supermarkets have to close at 8 p.m., other shops at 6 p.m. The 1.5 meter distance rule will be reintroduced, citizens should work at home again and receive a maximum of four visitors at home. Sports competitions must take place without an audience, this also applies to football games. Cinemas and theaters are excluded from the shutdown. As before, visitors only have to prove that they have been vaccinated, tested or recovered. It wasn’t until the end of September that the country relaxed most of the rules.
The number of new corona infections is now well over 16,000 daily and the incidence of well over 500 is twice as high as in Germany. The situation, especially in intensive care units, is so precarious that hospitals are warning of the emergency. (11/12/2021)
Spahn calls for the 2-G plus rule for public events
In view of rising incidences and full intensive care units, the Managing Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) calls for a 2-G-plus rule for public events. This means that vaccinated persons and genesis should also be tested before attending events. 2 G alone is no longer enough in the current situation. 3 G too often remained a theory because there were no controls. “We can no longer afford that,” said the Minister of Health. Vaccinated and recovered are part of the infection development in Germany. Therefore further measures are necessary. “It can only be done resolutely and together,” Spahn continued.
In addition to a 2-G-plus rule at public events, Spahn also urged citizens to quickly be tested more frequently. For this, the free citizen tests would be reintroduced from next Saturday, meaning rapid antigen tests. “I appeal to all citizens to use the test and vaccination offers that are offered.”
Spahn announced additional incentives to speed up the pace of vaccinations. With a planned regulation, doctors are to receive 28 euros as remuneration from Tuesday instead of the previous 20 euros, and there should be a weekend surcharge of 8 euros. The minister pointed out that vaccinations are picking up again. More than 4.3 million cans were ordered this week, which is a four-fold increase compared to previous weeks. In addition to the practices, there are again more than 170 vaccination centers and around 600 mobile teams.
The President of the Robert Koch Institute, Lothar Wieler, also campaigned for additional measures to curb the infection process. These could be to reduce contacts and the number of people at major events, but bars and clubs would also have to be closed again. In addition to the current AHA and L rules, vaccinated and convalescent people would also have to wear masks at 2-G events and should be tested.
Wieler found drastic words for the current situation: “It’s five past twelve,” said the PKI president. One must assume that the situation will worsen everywhere in Germany without additional measures. To clarify, Wieler opened a calculation example. On Thursday, more than 50,000 new corona cases were transmitted to the RKI in one day for the first time. Of these, at least 3,000 would have to be treated in the hospital and at least 350 of the 50,000 new infections in an intensive care unit. At least 200 of them will die mathematically. And that only reflects the infection rate in one day.
Spahn and Wieler want to report weekly on the current Corona situation in the future. (11/12/2021)
Steinmeier has a booster vaccination
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had a booster vaccination. “The pandemic is not over. The fourth wave hits our country hard. And it hits us harder than it should hit us,” he explains. The Federal President calls on those who have not been vaccinated to be vaccinated. “Those who do not get vaccinated are putting their own health at risk and they are putting us all at risk,” he added. (11/12/2021)
Austria will again be a high-risk area from Sunday
From this Sunday on, the federal government is again classifying Austria as a corona high-risk area. “Yes, we can confirm,” said the Managing Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) on Friday in Berlin on a corresponding question and referred to the infection situation and dynamics there. From then on, the Czech Republic and Hungary are again considered high-risk areas, as announced by the Robert Koch Institute, but the USA no longer. Anyone who enters from a high-risk area and is not fully vaccinated or recovered has to be in quarantine for ten days and can only get rid of it with a negative test five days after arrival at the earliest. (11/12/2021)
Political barometer: demand for stricter corona measures is increasing
Against this background, support in Germany for stricter measures to contain the virus is growing. According to the ZDF Politbarometer, 49 percent of those surveyed, more than twice as many as last (end of October: 20 percent) now consider stricter protective measures to be necessary. In addition, 77 percent demanded that there should be stronger controls to ensure compliance with the regulations. Introducing 2 G nationwide in restaurants, hotels and in the leisure and cultural sector, i.e. only allowing vaccinated and convalescents there, would be 67 percent good and 32 percent not good. According to the ZDF Politbarometer, 71 percent were in favor of a 3-G rule in the workplace.
Nationwide incidence reaches a new high for the fifth time in a row
The nationwide seven-day incidence has risen again and has peaked for the fifth day in a row. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the weekly incidence of 263.7. Since Monday there had been new maximum incidence values. On Thursday the value was 249.1. A week ago the value was 169.9 (previous month: 65.8).
The health authorities in Germany reported 48,640 new corona infections to the RKI within one day. This is the second highest value since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of new infections had reached a record level the previous day at 50,196. A week ago the value was 37,120 infections.
According to the new information, 191 deaths were recorded throughout Germany within 24 hours. A week ago there were 154 deaths. The RKI has counted 4,942,890 detected infections with Sars-CoV-2 since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of corona patients admitted to clinics per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days was given by the RKI on Thursday at 4.65 (Wednesday: 4.61). The previous high was around 15.5 around Christmas a year ago. The number of people who died with or with a proven infection with Sars-CoV-2 rose to 97,389. (11/12/2021)
RKI advises the cancellation of larger events
In view of the high number of corona infections, the Robert Koch Institute calls for contact avoidance. “The RKI urgently advises canceling or avoiding larger events if possible, but also reducing all other unnecessary contacts,” says the weekly report. The institute describes the current development as “very worrying”. An escalation is to be feared if measures do not quickly lead to a reduction in transmissions – the RKI includes, for example, the wearing of masks, compliance with the minimum distance, the reduction of contacts and ventilation. These measures are also important for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered, even for meetings under 3G and 2D conditions. (11/12/2021)
Beamtenbund warns: For 2 G and 3 G at most random checks are possible
The head of the DBB civil servants’ association, Ulrich Silberbach, has dampened expectations of comprehensive state controls of strict corona rules in autumn and winter. “It will come down to random checks, more is simply not possible,” said Silberbach of the German Press Agency in Berlin. “Now the crisis teams are being brought up again, and I hear from many administrations that they don’t even know where to get people from to control 3G or 2G.”
The colleagues felt once again let down by politics, said the union chairman. “Public service workers have to unload that again.” Health, regulatory and trade supervisory authorities, police, emergency services, health and care workers have been working at the limit for more than a year and a half. The situation in schools is also permanently tense.
“Everyone is driving mentally and physically on the last groove,” said the DBB boss. For most of them there was no breather whatsoever. The public sector currently has a shortage of more than 300,000 employees. (11/12/2021)
3 G in Austria increases the vaccination rate
The significant tightening of the rules for unvaccinated people has noticeably increased the number of corona vaccinations in Austria. In the first ten days after the introduction of the 3-G rule in the workplace, a total of more than 420,000 vaccinations were recorded, according to figures from the ministries. In the ten days before that, there were around 157,000. On top of that, a 2-G rule has been in effect since November 8, which excludes unvaccinated people from large parts of public life.
A large number of vaccinations (235,000) have been booster vaccinations since November 1st. For the first time, 123,000 people were protected against the coronavirus by injection. According to the figures, 64,000 citizens got a second dose. The vaccination quota in Austria is currently around 65 percent of the total population, which is slightly worse than the German value.
The pressure on the unvaccinated will only increase. A transition period during which unvaccinated employees can wear an FFP2 mask all day as an alternative ends on November 15th. Employers are called upon to check randomly whether their employees have been vaccinated, recovered or tested. Violations can result in fines of up to 500 euros for employees and up to 3600 euros for companies. It says in the room that from the middle of the month onwards, only PCR tests are valid as access permits to the workplace.
Only employees who have practically no longer contact with other people, such as truck drivers, are exempt from the 3-G rule at work. (11/12/2021)
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Labor Minister Heil seeks 3-G consensus with business and trade unions
Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) wants to introduce the planned 3G rules at the workplace to contain the fourth corona wave in consensus with business and trade unions. “For the consistent implementation of the 3G rules in the workplace, I am looking for a conversation with German employers and trade unions. We can only ensure effective protection and more vaccinations if employees, companies and the state work together,” says the SPD politician Rheinische Post According to a preliminary report. The measures taken so far have not been sufficient to reduce the incidence of infections. That is why it is right to maintain the requirements for operational infection protection. In addition, only those who have been vaccinated, those who have recovered and who have been tested will be allowed to go to work in the future. This is necessary because the vaccination rate is still not sufficient and the number of unvaccinated people is still high, so Heil. (11/12/2021)