The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reports 95,267 positive tests within 24 hours. That is 16,849 more cases than on Monday a week ago, when 78,318 new infections were reported. The nationwide seven-day incidence rises to a new high of 1426. The day before it was 1400. 49 people died in connection with the virus. This increases the number of reported deaths to 118,766. So far, more than 11.1 million corona tests have been positive in Germany. (07.02.2022)
Lauterbach expects easing “well before Easter”
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach says he is firmly convinced that the measures can be relaxed before mid-April. “I think we will loosen up well before Easter,” he said image-Newspaper. Easter Sunday falls on April 17 this year. A gradual elimination of the measures could already be discussed at the Corona summit on February 16. Lauterbach spoke out against immediate easing. “We are before the peak of the wave. To loosen up to the maximum number of cases now means: I’m pouring oil on the fire.” “The spook could be over” in the fall if vaccination was compulsory by then.
Lauterbach also said he expects other virus variants to follow Omicron. “I don’t think that Omikron is the last option,” said Lauterbach when asked when the end of the pandemic and the protective measures could be expected. (02/06/2022)
Immunologist calls for equality of omicron infection with booster vaccination
The immunologist Carsten Watzl calls on the federal government to legally equate proven omicron infections with a booster vaccination. “A clearly documented infection should be equated with a single vaccine dose for each affected person,” says the Secretary General of the German Immunological Society Augsburg General. The fact that vaccinated people are not considered boosted after an infection is scientifically untenable. “There is very good data that those who have recovered should also be given equal treatment here.” However, one infection is not enough for full vaccination protection. “Anyone who has never been vaccinated receives the protection of a single vaccination if they have had an omicron infection. Three doses are important, regardless of whether they are due to an infection or a vaccination.” (07.02.2022)
State of emergency in Ottawa after protests against corona measures
After more than a week of protests against corona measures and vaccination regulations in the Canadian capital Ottawa, Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency. This measure was necessary because of the “serious danger and threat to the safety of local residents” from the ongoing protests, it said in a statement. The city needs more support from other municipalities and from the government.
The police again called on the demonstrators on Sunday to leave the city center. There was a disturbance of the peace overnight. Since Saturday, they have issued more than 450 fines, including for dangerous driving and noise pollution. Several people were taken into custody and almost 100 cases, including allegations of hate crimes, are being investigated, the police said.
According to Police Commissioner Peter Sloly, an estimated 5,000 people took part in the protests on Saturday. Around 1,000 trucks and other vehicles would have blocked parts of the city center. Residents were asked to stay away from downtown.
The protest in Ottawa began a week ago with the arrival of a convoy of hundreds of trucks. The so-called Freedom Convoy (translated: “Convoy of Freedom”) and demonstrators have been holding out in the city near Parliament ever since. The protests were triggered in January by vaccination requirements for truck drivers returning from the United States. The protests are now directed against government pandemic restrictions as a whole. A majority of the Canadian population supports the pandemic measures, according to a recently published poll. In Canada, more than 77 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. (07.02.2022)
Scholz has confidence in Wieler despite criticism from the FDP
Chancellor Olaf Scholz backed the virologists in the traffic light dispute over RKI boss Lothar Wieler. When asked whether Wieler still enjoyed the chancellor’s trust, a government spokeswoman said “yes” on Saturday. The designated FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai had previously said that Wieler could “no longer be sure of the FDP’s trust”. The trigger was the annoyance at the reduction in the convalescent status. Green politicians and intensive care physicians also defended Wieler.
The RKI reduced the period “almost incidentally with the stroke of a pen and without any announcement”, criticized the FDP politician in the “Spiegel”. This is not an isolated case, but a “recent misconduct”. The surprising shortening of the recovered status from six to three months meant that people without a full vaccination status were suddenly unable to go to restaurants, bars or gyms. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) had spoken of communication problems with the RKI.
The RKI President received demonstrative support from the green coalition partner. “Lothar Wieler has done an incredible amount during the pandemic. His expertise, professionalism, and steadfastness in the face of attacks by enemies of science deserve respect,” wrote Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt on Twitter.
Green health expert Janosch Dahmen tweeted: “His expertise is invaluable. Without him we would be in a much worse position today,” he wrote on Twitter. Christian Karagiannidis, President of the German Society for Internal Intensive Care Medicine and Emergency Medicine, made a similar statement, emphasizing that Wieler’s expertise was “invaluable”.
The background to the dispute with the FDP is a deeper conflict in the coalition over the further Corona course. There is a dispute between the SPD, FDP and Greens as to when there should be opening steps, which the Liberals in particular are pushing for. FDP leader Christian Lindner had called for easing this week, such as the abolition of the 2G rule in retail. “The time for opening debates is now,” tweeted Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry for Digital Affairs and Transport, Michael Theurer (FDP), on Saturday.
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit had said in view of the sharp increase in the number of new corona infections that it was too early to present a timetable for openings. Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) made a similar statement on Friday. During the pandemic, Wieler advocates a tougher course in the fight against the pandemic.
According to model calculations, the RKI expects the omicron wave to peak in mid-February. Then the number of daily new corona infections could be at least 400,000. The number of corona patients in hospitals is also expected to increase. However, the number of very severe illnesses in omicron-infected people has not increased so far. (02/06/2022)