“I’m counting on a new wave in the fall,” said Karl Lauterbach (SPD). SZ. In the autumn wave, you could then be dealing with a variant “that has a greater penetration depth into the lung and nerve tissue and destroys the tissue more,” said the minister. Serious cases of illness and strict measures can only be prevented if Germany prepares, says Lauterbach: “It is urgently necessary that we get general vaccinations done. It will depend on where we are in the fall.”
Various federal states have announced easing
The federal-state conference, at which the federal government and the heads of state of the federal states want to agree on a gradual withdrawal of corona rules, is only this Wednesday. But the day before, various prime ministers announced individual relaxations that are to be implemented in their state – but usually only after the prime ministers have met.
Berlin has lifted the 2G rule for retail. At its meeting on Tuesday, the Senate decided to change the Corona Ordinance accordingly, as the Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) announced. Shopping in many shops and department stores is currently only allowed for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered. From Friday this will no longer apply, but instead there will be a general obligation to wear an FFP2 mask in retail. The Senate has also regulated it for tourism offers such as city tours and boat trips as well as for museums, galleries and memorials.
In Hamburg the red-green Senate wants to lift the corona-related curfew in the catering trade, probably at the weekend. The abolition of 2G in retail has already been implemented, said Senate spokesman Marcel Schweitzer.
for North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) announced concrete easing in the Düsseldorf state parliament. One of the first steps is that contact restrictions for vaccinated people are noticeably reduced. In addition, facilitations are planned for restaurants, hotels and major events. According to Wüst, the FFP2 mask will be the central protective mechanism when shopping in the future. At the same time, restrictions that interfere particularly strongly with fundamental rights should be withdrawn. This applies, for example, to the private sector. On Thursday he will inform the state parliament “how we can implement the decisions in North Rhine-Westphalia in a timely manner”.
Schleswig Holstein wants to lift the contact restrictions for vaccinated and recovered on Saturday. For people without a Covid 19 vaccination, an upper limit of 25 people should apply to private meetings, as Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) announced. From March 3rd, the unvaccinated should be allowed to take part in large parts of public life again. The prerequisite is that they have a negative test in gastronomy, tourism, leisure and culture. The obligation to wear masks in schools should be dropped by the beginning of the Easter holidays at the latest.
Bavaria on the other hand, he is relaxing his corona regulations before the expected decisions of the Prime Minister’s Conference. The Bavarian cabinet decided in the morning that the vaccinated and those who have recovered will be allowed to meet privately again in groups of any size, in many areas 2 G instead of 2 G plus should apply again and the unvaccinated should have access to large parts of public life again if they have a negative test. (02/15/2022)
Laboratories: Omicron wave appears to be declining
Data from the PCR laboratories apparently give a first indication of a declining corona infection process. In the week to Sunday, for the first time since the beginning of the year, both the number of tests carried out and the so-called positive rate fell, according to the Association of Accredited Laboratories in Medicine (ALM). 2,366,691 PCR tests were carried out within seven days, four percent fewer than the week before. The nationwide calculated positive rate – i.e. the proportion of positive results in all tests made – was also slightly lower than in the previous week at 43.9 percent.
“Although the slight decrease in the number of tests gives us a positive feeling as the first indication of a declining infection rate, the laboratories still see reason for caution and caution. The peak of the omicron wave has still not been reached in some federal states,” said Nina Beikert, member of the ALM board. The laboratory association relied on data from 182 specialist laboratories. In the week ending February 13, the nationwide average was 86 percent. In the week before it was given as 93 percent.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach also sees a turnaround in the omicron wave: “The peak of the omicron wave has passed – pretty much exactly on the day I predicted a month ago,” says the SPD politician image. Therefore, “moderate easing” is possible, he adds, referring to the top round of federal and state governments on Wednesday. He supports the gradual easing steps that have become known so far – “but nothing more”. (02/15/2022)
Wüst announces rapid easing of the corona restrictions for NRW
The nationwide incidence drops to 1438
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reports around 159,000 new positive tests within 24 hours. The nationwide seven-day incidence falls for the third time in a row to 1438 from 1460 the previous day. 243 people died in connection with the virus. This increases the number of reported deaths to more than 120,000.
However, the figures are only of limited significance. Experts assume a high number of cases that are not recorded in the RKI data. Test capacities and health authorities are at the limit in many places, contacts are only traced to a limited extent. That is why we use the SZ Corona Dashboard to show an average value from the reports of the past seven days, which is intended to compensate for fluctuations from day to day. You can find more information on this in the transparency blog, further data and graphics on the pandemic here. (02/15/2022)
The federal and state governments are planning significant relief in March
Immediately before the next prime ministers’ conference on February 16, there are clear signs of easing. Everyone is still urging caution and pointing out how important it is to wear medical masks. But the strict rules should slowly fall, in three steps.
According to the draft resolution for the meeting, which the Süddeutsche Zeitung is available, the federal and state governments are planning to facilitate family gatherings for those who have recovered and those who have been vaccinated as a first step. So far, the upper limit was ten people, it should rise to 20, maybe even more people. Children up to the age of 14 are exempt from the restrictions anyway. For those who are not vaccinated, however, the restrictions should remain in place until March 19, because they are still particularly at risk and if they become infected they are also threatened with more severe courses. In addition, if not already done, restrictions on access to retail outlets should be lifted. Shopping there should then be possible again without controls. However, combined with the request to continue wearing medical masks.
In a second step, the federal and state governments are planning to make unhindered access to gastronomy for those who have been vaccinated, those who have recovered and those who have currently tested negative from March 4, 2022. From then on, overnight stays in hotels should also be possible again in accordance with the 3 G rule. Discotheques and clubs should be possible for those who have recovered and those who have been vaccinated with a daily test, so the 2-G-Plus rule should apply here. The plans also stipulate that major national events, i.e. also sports events and Bundesliga games under the 2-G or 2-G-plus rule, should be allowed again, up to a targeted capacity utilization of 60 percent and a maximum of 25,000 spectators. For indoor events, on the other hand, an occupancy rate of 40 percent should apply, but a maximum of 4,000 people are allowed.
Finally, in a third step, all “profound protective measures” are to be dropped from March 20th. From then on, this should also apply to the mandatory home office rules. Nevertheless, employers can agree on a continuation with their employees.
With these steps, there are significant simplifications for public life. Nevertheless, the federal and state governments appeal to the population in the paper to continue to be careful, to continue low-threshold protective measures and to “behave responsibly” overall. (02/14/2022)