Health ministerial conference: boost, test, 2G – but no lockdown

There should be no compulsory vaccination, neither should lockdowns. The state health ministers want to counter the corona winter with booster vaccinations and more tests in homes. For the first time, there is consensus on 2G rules for severely affected regions.

The corona card of the Robert Koch Institute is colored deep red. Especially dark in the southeast. But the corona numbers are not only exploding in the hotspots in Saxony, Thuringia and Bavaria.

With stunner and an incidence of nearly 170, the issue is back on the agenda. It had become quiet over the summer about Covid-19, too quiet. The rulers were very busy with themselves and the general election. And the always bustling Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn no longer liked to tackle Corona, at least in public. He only held out the prospect of the end of the epidemic situation – executive in office. The traffic light negotiators see it the same way.

Incidence of 385 in Saxony

In the morning, the Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer was out early. He sounded the alarm on the radio. With an incidence of 385, his federal state is the front runner after Thuringia, but the bottom is in vaccination. Only 57 percent of the Saxons are fully vaccinated. The intensive care units report the first emergencies.

The end of the epidemic situation sends a devastating signal to the population, says Kretschmer im Deutschlandfunk. The Saxon state father wants stricter corona rules nationwide and a quick top meeting of the federal and state levels. “If we take too much time now, it will end in a lockdown, like last year.”

With that, the Saxon had brought the lockdown back into conversation. However, he is unlikely to find much approval for this. There is hardly a country colleague who does not emphasize like a prayer wheel that there will be no more school closings and lockdowns. Despite all corona numbers and warnings from intensive care physicians.

The fact that the Corona issue should be treated with urgency and that, in the end, uniform measures of all federal states make sense – the health ministers of the states wanted to send the signal. They advised for a day and a half in Lindau on Lake Constance.

Spahn is also there. He had already set his scent mark in advance. He relies on booster vaccinations. The positive experiences of the Israeli counterpart, who recently visited Berlin, have obviously convinced Spahn. And the state ministers too. Now must, now everything should go quickly.

The minister says that it has not long been known that the booster makes such a difference. It also sounds like an apology. The booster campaign is late and slow.

Booster vaccination should be accessible to everyone

Booster vaccination for everyone, initially primarily for the elderly, the group agrees on this. There is enough vaccine. Vaccination should be given primarily in doctor’s offices. The federal states promise additional options such as the use of mobile vaccination teams. The commissioning of large vaccination centers, however, is unlikely to happen. Spahn had irritated the state ministers with this request in advance. The pressure should therefore quickly land on the practices.

And again the focus is on old people’s and nursing homes. The horrors of last winter should not be repeated. The virus should not rage so brutally again, said Spahn. Therefore, staff and visitors should be tested again. Also compulsory for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered. The tests should be free of charge. And how often is it tested? The round of health ministers leaves that open, remains vague. Too vague, criticize patient advocates.

No vaccination light for nursing staff

In Lindau you cannot overlook the problem of unvaccinated nursing staff. More and more homes are reporting outbreaks. With numerous deaths. The Green Minister of Health Manne Lucha from Baden-Württemberg, however, cannot prevail. Maybe also because he’s not there and instead negotiates the traffic lights in Berlin. In any case, the group rejects a compulsory vaccination. Fear a division in society.

In addition, the dilemma remains in the already tense situation in homes and hospitals – if the duty comes, even more nurses are likely to leave the service.

Nobody talks about lockdown in front of cameras in Lindau, but they do talk about 2G rules. So access only for vaccinated and convalescent people. As an option for countries with a high corona load, the Conference of Health Ministers wants to expressly state 2G in addition to the 3G rule. That is new. Also as a common line. That was often missing.

Incidentally, the key issues paper of the traffic light negotiators also provides for such 3G and 2G possibilities. The SPD, the Greens and the FDP are currently discussing a new regulation when the “epidemic of national importance” expires on November 25th.

Schools should remain open

The three possible new government factions want to give the countries a new tool kit with which they can react appropriately and flexibly to the corona situation. Then everything no longer works. The three reject school closings and lockdowns.

This will be voted on in the Bundestag on November 18. One day later, the states can then give their place in the Federal Council. The rule is: the virus is not waiting, especially not for a new government.