Status: 10.09.2021 2:53 p.m.
The seven-day incidence, on which many corona measures depended, will be replaced: In future, the most important variable will be the number of people infected with corona in hospitals. The Federal Council decided to change the law.
In the future, the protective measures in the corona pandemic will primarily be based on the number of people who come to hospital because of their infection. The Federal Council decided on the new version of the Infection Protection Act, which will make the hospitalization rate the most important parameter for the measures taken by the federal states.
Specifically, the new Infection Protection Act provides that the number of corona-related hospital admissions per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days will become “an essential benchmark for further protective measures”. The Bundestag passed the law on Tuesday.
Other indicators “such as the number of new infections differentiated under infection epidemiological aspects”, the available intensive care treatment capacities and the number of people vaccinated should also be taken into account when assessing the infection rate.
Countries set the threshold themselves
The Robert Koch Institute stated the number of corona patients admitted to clinics per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days in the morning at 1.95 (previous day 1.89) – a nationwide threshold value, from which the situation can be viewed critically however, not intended for the incidence of hospitalization. The reason is large regional differences.
The state governments should therefore set threshold values for the hospitalization rate themselves in an ordinance, taking into account the respective inpatient care capacities.
Obligation to provide information in certain professional fields
The law also regulates the duty of employees in daycare centers, schools and homes to provide information about their vaccination status. The obligation to provide information in daycare centers, schools as well as old people’s and nursing homes applies for the duration of the epidemic situation of national scope. The information provided by employees about their vaccination status is intended to help organize the work; consequences under labor law are excluded.