Federal states and Corona: Kretschmer wants “hard breakwater”

In view of the high number of infections, Saxony wants to tighten its measures. Prime Minister Kretschmer announced a “hard breakwater” – but avoided the word lockdown. The SPD-led countries bring 2G-Plus into play in clubs.

Shortly before the start of the federal-state summit on the corona situation in Germany, Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer announced further tough cuts in his state. In a government statement in the state parliament, he spoke of a “hard and clear breakwater” for two or three weeks in view of the dramatically increasing number of corona infections. He avoided the word lockdown. Details are to be decided by the cabinet on Friday.

Kretschmer justified the advance with the extremely high value of the weekly incidence in Saxony, which the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) stated as 761.4. This means that Saxony has by far the highest infection rate in Germany, ahead of Bavaria (609.5) and Thuringia (565.0).

Kretschmer: Cohesion is the “order of the day”

This shows once again that urgent action is needed, emphasized Kretschmer. The epidemic needs forward-looking action. There is a direct connection between vaccination rate and incidence. Saxony has the lowest vaccination rate, although vaccination has been advertised again and again. There is only one way to end the disease – immunization.

In order to break the fourth wave of infections, joint action and social cohesion are necessary. “From I to we – that is the order of the day. This is the only way we can cope with the pandemic,” said Kretschmer.

CDU wants vaccination in nursing professions

At the federal-state consultations, the Union-led states also want to propose mandatory vaccination for nursing and medical professions. This emerges from a draft resolution sent to all countries by NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU). Wüst currently holds the chairmanship of the Prime Minister’s Conference. The proposal says that the mandatory vaccination should also apply to hospital staff and employees in facilities for the disabled.

The Union-led countries are also in favor of a nationwide 2G rule that only grants vaccinated or recovered people access to leisure events and restaurants, for example. A threshold value for the entry into force of this rule is no longer mentioned. Furthermore, nursing staff should again be paid a nursing bonus in recognition of their commitment in the corona pandemic.

SPD is considering 2G plus in clubs and discos

Another suggestion comes from the SPD side: According to a draft resolution, the federal and state governments should adopt the so-called 2G-plus rule in areas at high risk of infection from a certain deterioration. This applies “especially in discos, clubs and bars”, it says in the paper.

At the summit meeting this afternoon, the federal and state governments want to discuss uniform 2G and 3G rules. They should clarify in which areas and under which conditions access should only be permitted for vaccinated and convalescent people (2G) and where also for those with negative tests (3G).

It is currently still a matter of dispute where and from what threshold the regulations should apply. The open questions include, for example, whether there are nationwide 2G rules and whether a 2G-plus rule should apply from certain thresholds for hospitalization.

Brysch: Incidence of hospitalization not sufficient

The patient protection advocate Eugen Brysch warned against making the assessment of the corona situation solely dependent on the utilization of the intensive care units. That is not enough. “What is it like in the other wards in a hospital?” Said the board of directors of the German Foundation for Patient Protection to the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation. “How is the capacity utilization? How is the staffing level?” All of this should actually be incorporated into a Covid-19 radar.

In addition, the hospitalization incidence does not create transparency, lamented Brysch. There is only recorded how many infected people have come to the hospital in the past seven days. In many patients, however, an infection is only discovered afterwards.

Drosten calls for a mix of measures

In view of the tense corona situation, the virologist Christian Drosten considers a mix of measures with the 2G rule, more booster vaccinations and contact restrictions for unvaccinated people to be sensible. “In order to keep our health system still functional and to be able to guarantee general medical care, our top priority must be to protect the unvaccinated against infection,” explained the head of the Charité Virology Department in Berlin.

The number of infections among the unvaccinated would have to be reduced quickly, as these people would have a much higher risk of being hospitalized if they were infected than those who had been vaccinated. Covid-19 is primarily a “disease of the unvaccinated”, he emphasized.