corona pandemic
Drosten: No infection-free summer – stick to masks
Christian Drosten, Director of the Institute for Virology at the Charité Berlin. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa
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With rising temperatures, the number of corona infections decreases. But even in the summer, the pandemic should not simply be over, warns virologist Drosten. And recommends further protective measures.
Despite the falling number of corona infections in Germany, the virologist Christian Drosten assumes that it will also be possible to get infected with the omicron variant of the virus in summer.
On the one hand, the current vaccination progress is not sufficient, on the other hand, the infection activity by omicron is still high, said the scientist from the Berlin Charité on Tuesday in the podcast “Coronavirus Update” on NDR-Info. “That’s why I assume that there will be no infection-free summer.”
Drosten pointed out that in South Africa, for example, the omicron wave had risen steeply in midsummer. In summer in Germany he does not assume that an “untamed” wave will be seen, but “one will also be able to get infected with this omicron virus in summer”. Accordingly, he also thinks it is advisable to continue wearing masks indoors in summer. In particular, wearing FFP2 masks indoors is “the most efficient measure of all” in the long run.
With a view to temperatures falling again over the course of the year, Drosten expressed the assessment that there would be another winter wave. He hopes that this will not be accompanied by a serious burden of illness in the population, but the risk of large-scale work absences will continue to exist. “The pandemic is not only over when the vaccination has reduced the severity of the disease, but also when this high level of transmissibility has ended as a result of certain modifications in the population,” he warned.