Live blog
Status: 07/02/2021 9:13 a.m.
The Robert Koch Institute reports 649 new corona infections and a further decrease in the incidence value of 5.0. Chancellery Minister Braun does not expect a new lockdown in the fall. The developments in the live blog.
- RKI reports 649 new infections – the incidence drops to 5.0
- The Chancellery Minister does not expect a new lockdown in the fall
- SPD for legal entitlement to home office
- Johnson & Johnson vaccine appears to work against Delta variant
09:13 am
Lauterbach: Virus could “learn” to deal with vaccines
The epidemiologist and SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach warns that fighting the corona virus early on could have a kind of “learning effect”. “There is a risk that the virus will learn to deal with 13 approved vaccines,” Lauterbach said SWR news. In the history of viruses, there has never been a case where a virus was fought so aggressively, early and quickly. That in turn could lead to the fact that the virus strains also prevailed in people who have already been vaccinated. Although laboratory tests have already shown that there are viruses that are resistant to all vaccines that have been developed so far, Lauterbach does not believe that a virus is developing “in the wild” that is immune to all previous vaccines.
09:07 am
Müller optimistic for autumn – but rules are important
Berlin’s governing mayor Michael Müller says he is optimistic about the corona situation in autumn, but also urges compliance with the rules. “I think we have great chances of getting through this difficult situation in the fall, even with the delta virus rising, because we have made considerable progress in vaccination,” said the SPD politician in a joint statement Morning magazine from ARD and ZDF. “But we cannot feel safe.” Safeguards are necessary – also in travel. A lot can be made possible again, but rules still have to be observed. “The normality that we now have is such a great asset that everyone must understand that with a lot of personal responsibility we have to maintain exactly that, or become even more secure, in order to enable us to do even more in autumn can “, so Müller. He feels a lot of acceptance for the things that are still needed now.
8:37 am
India: More than 400,000 corona deaths
India has confirmed more than 400,000 deaths from the coronavirus. Half of the fatalities had been registered in the past two months, the authorities said. In the previous 24 hours, 853 people died from or with the corona virus. This brought the official number of deaths since the pandemic started to 400,312. Only in the United States and Brazil have more deaths been recorded from the pandemic.
The first corona death was registered on March 12, 2020 in the state of Karnataka. India officially has more than 30.4 million infections with the coronavirus. Experts assume that the actual number is significantly higher. The number of new infections has been falling since they rose to more than 400,000 a day in May. However, authorities are preparing for another possible wave of infections in September and are trying to speed up the vaccination campaign. So far, less than five percent of the population has been fully vaccinated.
8:33 am
Australia halves the number of entries
To protect against the spread of the Delta variant, Australia wants to allow only half as many passengers to enter the country as before. Instead of 6,000 passengers, only 3,000 passengers a week will be allowed to enter the country from July 14, said Prime Minister Scott Morrison. This should reduce the pressure on the quarantine facilities. The prime minister said the upper limit should not apply any longer than necessary.
Strict entry restrictions are already in place in Australia, the aim of which is to prevent further introductions of the coronavirus. However, the new policy makes it even more difficult for 34,000 Australians and permanent residents stuck abroad to return home. The government has announced that it will charter more planes for repatriation. About half of the Australian population has been locked down again since last week after outbreaks of the Delta variant were registered.
07:56 am
RKI reports 649 new infections
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reports 649 new corona infections. That is 125 cases less than on Friday a week ago. The seven-day incidence continues to drop to 5.0 from 5.1 the previous day; a week ago it was 6.2. The value indicates how many people per 100,000 inhabitants have been infected with the corona virus in the past seven days. 69 other people died related to the virus. This increases the number of reported deaths within 24 hours to 91,007.A total of more than 3.72 million corona tests have so far been positive in Germany.
07:46 am
Patient advocates worry about vaccination protection for home residents
Given the rapid spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus, patient advocates have called for a swift decision to re-vaccinate nursing home residents. “A political decision is still needed in July as to when the refreshment offer for the nursing home residents should start,” said the board of directors of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, Eugen Brysch, the editorial network Germany.
Most of the home residents received their second dose of vaccine in February. It is becoming apparent that vaccination protection loses its effect more quickly in the very old than in younger people. “That’s why no time should be wasted now,” said Brysch. According to estimates by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), at least every second corona infection this week is likely to be due to the more contagious Delta variant.
06:26 am
The Chancellery Minister does not expect a new lockdown in the fall
Chancellery Minister Helge Braun does not believe in another lockdown in the fall. “As long as the vaccinations work well, a lockdown at the expense of those who are fully vaccinated is out of the question. Many areas that were completely closed in the past must remain open to this large part of the population,” says Braun to the news radio MDR current. The Chancellery Minister announced that the federal government would not only look at the incidence values in the future. The topic of hospital admissions would be placed more in the center of the statistics in the future.
In addition, the determination of the measures to be taken in the fight against the corona pandemic should not be based solely on incidences. Although these would continue to play an important role, said Braun, “if we are now in the situation where a large number of citizens are vaccinated, we must of course include other factors.” According to Braun, the hospital admissions in connection with the corona virus should move more into focus. “The question is, what proportion of the incidence actually leads to more severe courses?” It is also about observing how well the vaccinations against different corona variants worked. “If vaccinated people also come to the hospital more and more, that would be a signal that we are either dealing with a variant or that the success of the vaccination is already waning, and that we have to re-vaccinate,” said the head of the Chancellery.
06:26 am
SPD for legal entitlement to home office
The chairman of the SPD, Saskia Esken, calls for a permanent legal right for employees to work from home. “Basically, employees should be able to work mobile or from home for a five-day week at least 24 days a year, if the activity allows,” she says of the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. The home office gained enormously in importance during the corona pandemic and changed the working world of many people. A legal regulation is therefore required, since working and rest times as well as a right to non-availability should apply here as well.
6:25 am
Stiko-Chef: data on booster vaccination too thin
The chairman of the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko), Thomas Mertens, considers the data situation to be too thin for clear recommendations on booster vaccinations. “For a solid answer you still need data, time and work,” says Mertens of the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post”. Accordingly, a distinction must be made between so-called immune parameters, which can be determined in the laboratory, and the duration of protection of a vaccination. These indicators are not the same for everyone, but depend on the age and immune competence of the vaccinated person. “So far there have been few results on the immune parameters and we expect more and more in the summer,” said the Stiko boss.
6:11 am
Johnson & Johnson vaccine appears to be effective against delta mutant
According to the company, the American vaccine Johnson & Johnson shows a high level of effectiveness against the delta variant of the coronavirus. As the company announced in a statement, the vaccine was 85 percent effective against the new mutant. Data showed that the immunization would last for at least eight months.