In view of the particularly contagious Omikron variant, the health ministers of the federal states are calling for stricter regulations for those entering from virus variant areas. “We have asked the federal government to adapt the coronavirus entry regulation: In future, travelers aged six and over should submit a negative PCR test to the carrier before departure from these areas, which may not be more than 48 hours ago when departing abroad,” said the Bavarian Minister of Health Klaus Holetschek (CSU) on Saturday afternoon after a special video switch from the federal and state health ministers. A rapid antigen test should therefore no longer be accepted.
In addition, according to the health ministers’ request, the PCR test will in future also be presented by those travelers from virus variant areas who only transfer at a German airport. The passengers sometimes sit on the same plane for hours, and the virus does not differentiate between passengers who are disembarking or transferring. “We therefore ask the federal government to curb this possible source of infection, especially on long-haul flights, by having all passengers submit a PCR test – anything else would be absurd,” said Holetschek.
The health ministers of the federal states had also asked the federal government to campaign for the classification of Great Britain as a virus variant area at short notice. Holetschek said: “The spread of Omikron in Great Britain is very clear. We also appeal to the population: Do not travel to the virus variant areas if it cannot be avoided!” The goal must be to prevent the spread of Omikron for as long as possible and to slow it down as much as possible so that even more people can be vaccinated.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), who also took part in the switch, emphasized: “Making entry safer helps so that the Omikron variant does not spread so quickly.” The spread cannot be prevented, only delayed.
Lauterbach expects a massive fifth corona wave because of the omicron variant. This will be a “massive challenge for our hospitals, for our intensive care units, but also for society as a whole,” said the minister in Hanover on Friday. He spoke to British experts. Germany, too, has to adjust to a situation “which we have not yet had in this form.” (18.12.2021)
Kubicki sees “revenge” in the game of vaccination advocates
According to his own words, the FDP politician Wolfang Kubicki is “appalled by the Jacobin-like behavior of many in this country, whose joy in 2G and vaccination is no longer rational.” The Vice President of the Bundestag also said Time online, “Many vaccination advocates seem to be interested in revenge and retribution.” When asked “Revenge on whom?” Kubicki replied: “To the unvaccinated, because one believes that they have identified those responsible for our current misery, which is of course complete nonsense.”
The Bundestag is expected to decide in the coming year on a general vaccination against corona in a free vote without parliamentary group discipline. Among others, Chancellor Olaf Scholz had spoken out in favor of such a duty, and FDP party leader Christian Lindner said he was also going in this direction. Kubicki and other FDP MPs had recently spoken out clearly against it in a draft application. Since “people who have been vaccinated are also contagious,” he considers compulsory testing for everyone, for example when entering hospitals or nursing homes, to be better, says Kubicki. Lindner’s positioning does not hurt him, however, as it is an individual decision.
Parliament has already decided that employees in facilities with particularly vulnerable people such as nursing homes and clinics must prove by mid-March 2022 that they have been vaccinated or have recovered. Kubicki had agreed – this had been more difficult for him than ever in the Bundestag, he said now. But he made it clear: “This has reached the limit of what is reasonable for me in terms of mandatory vaccination.” (December 18, 2021)
Fewer new infections, incidence drops to 321.8
The nationwide seven-day incidence fell again compared to the previous day. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in one week at 321.8. On Friday the value was 331.8, a week ago it was 402.9.
The health authorities in Germany reported 42 813 new corona infections to the RKI within one day. Exactly one week ago there were 53,697 infections. Across Germany, 414 deaths were recorded within 24 hours. A week ago there were 510 deaths.
The number of reported infections has been falling for almost three weeks. However, due to the more contagious Omicron variant, experts fear an imminent trend reversal. In view of the high load on the intensive care units and the impending wave of Omikron, the number of new infections is not falling sharply or quickly enough, the RKI warned in its weekly report on Thursday. The burden on hospitals and intensive care units remains high. Most of the hospital admissions are in the age groups over 60 years. According to the RKI, calculations indicate that the hospitalization rate is stabilizing at a high level. (18.12.2021)
Clinics: The situation will be aggravated if Omikron prognoses are confirmed
According to the German Hospital Association (DKG), the situation at the clinics in Germany could worsen significantly if the prognoses for the Omikron variant of the coronavirus are confirmed. If these are much more contagious than Delta and the severity of the courses are comparable, in the worst case you will have to deal with a large number of seriously ill patients at the same time, said DKG boss Gerald Gass. “For the hospitals, this would be a further aggravated situation that goes beyond everything that we have experienced so far.”
Gaß called on politicians to analyze the findings on Omikron from other countries “very carefully” and, if the fears were confirmed, to take countermeasures “very early” with contact restrictions. “We must then not lose any time, then we have to act immediately, even before the numbers go up in Germany and an overload of the hospitals can no longer be prevented.” (18.12.2021)
Bas for vaccination register – Kühnert against it
Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD) calls for a national vaccination register. She criticized in the World on sundaythat there is still too little data available about the corona pandemic. The health authorities do not know specifically “how many infections there are exactly. Or how the exact status of the vaccinations is. We assume up to 90 percent of the nursing staff are vaccinated, but these are estimates,” said Bas. “We need exact numbers,” she urged.
There is no such vaccination register in Germany. For the Covid-19 vaccinations, the data is collected from the vaccination centers and vaccinating practices and processed by the Robert Koch Institute so that the vaccination rates are known nationwide and regionally.
SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert rejects the collection of vaccination data. “Even if it is limited to the data from the corona vaccination, I see the fundamental risk that such a step will open the door for access to further data,” Kühnert told the newspapers of the editorial network in Germany. “I also don’t see how the completely overloaded health authorities are supposed to administer it.”
From the middle of March 2022, a vaccination is to apply for staff in the healthcare sector and in care facilities. The Bundestag also wants to deal with the question of whether a general compulsory corona vaccination should be introduced in order to increase vaccination rates.
Bas and Kühnert said that a number of questions had to be clarified beforehand. In particular, the goals of compulsory vaccination must be clear and they must be very well prepared. “What use is it if there is not enough vaccine available,” asked the President of the Bundestag, “or the vaccine remains ineffective with a certain virus variant?” Kühnert said: “I do not see it as certain that the vaccination will actually come in the end.”
For the designated CDU chairman Friedrich Merz, the question arises how a compulsory vaccination should be enforced: “In my opinion, the question of the implementation of such a law is at least as important as the discussion of the obligation as such.” (18.12.2021)
Habeck brings government guarantees for vaccines into play
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck wants to boost vaccine production for the next winter. State purchase guarantees could help stabilize production in the longer term, said the Green politician in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. “The point is to store the next generation of vaccines in time for the next winter.” But that doesn’t help in the short term. (18.12.2021)
RKI classifies Denmark and France as high risk areas
The federal government has classified France and Denmark as high-risk areas from Sunday onwards due to the high number of corona infections. In both countries, the number of new corona infections had recently skyrocketed. The new classification also applies to Norway, Lebanon and Andorra, as the Robert Koch Institute announced. 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.
With the exception of Luxembourg, all of Germany’s neighboring countries will be classified as high-risk areas in the future. Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Albania, North Macedonia and Moldova will be removed from the risk list. The classification as a high-risk area is automatically accompanied by a travel warning from the Federal Foreign Office for unnecessary tourist trips. It makes it easier for tourists to cancel trips that have already been booked free of charge, but does not mean a travel ban.
Countries and regions with a particularly high risk of infection are classified as high-risk areas. But it is not just the infection numbers that are decisive. Other criteria are the speed at which the virus is spreading, the burden on the health system or a lack of data on the corona situation.
In the meantime, there were no corona high-risk areas in the European Union in late summer. In the past few weeks, however, numerous EU countries have already been put back on the list. In total, more than 50 countries are wholly or partially listed as high-risk areas by the RKI. There are also eight virus variant areas in Africa, for which even stricter entry restrictions apply. They had been classified in the highest risk category because of the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Bavaria’s Minister of Health, Klaus Holetschek, had already asked the federal government before the decision of the RKI to classify Great Britain as a virus variant area because of the rapidly spreading Omikron variant there. In an interview with RTL and n-tv, the CSU politician referred to the fact that the numbers in Great Britain were increasing “vehemently”. Therefore, according to Holetschek, a PCR test should be presented upon entry. (17.12.2021)