Lauterbach on the Corona situation: Be vigilant in summer – new measures in autumn

Despite the “summer wave”, Minister Lauterbach sees no reason to panic. However, he advised wearing a mask indoors. At the same time he announced several new measures – including a vaccination campaign.

Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach sees a “summer wave” of corona with high incidence figures. “We don’t have to panic because of the summer wave,” said the SPD politician at the same time. Nevertheless, one must be vigilant, he said at a joint press conference with the Vice President of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Lars Schaade.

According to Lauterbach, the courses are milder in the omicron variant BA.5, especially in those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered. But if the number of people infected increases sharply, the number of people affected by Long-Covid will also increase. He recommends wearing a mask indoors voluntarily. It is a request that you protect yourself and others.

RKI Vice Schade: BA.5 variant dominant

RKI Vice President Schade said he assumed that the corona numbers would continue to rise. Among the reasons he gave were the lifting of mandatory measures and the new Omicron variant. However, there is no evidence that BA.5 leads to more severe disease progression, but it is significantly more contagious, he continues. The RKI recommends wearing a mask indoors – especially for older people and people with basic symptoms.

incidence at 427.8

The RKI gave the nationwide seven-day incidence on Friday morning at 427.8. The day before, the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week was 480.0 (previous week: 318.7; previous month: 437.6). The health authorities in Germany also reported 28,118 new corona infections (previous week: 77,878) and 19 deaths (previous week: 106) to the RKI within one day.

New vaccination campaign and test concept

Lauterbach also announced several measures for the fall. On the one hand, the government will prepare a vaccination campaign. “The aim is very clear that we want to start the autumn better than we were able to do last year and the year before.” He expects that the corona vaccines adapted by the manufacturers will be available from September. It is planned to be able to offer three vaccines “in order to be able to give everyone a vaccination recommendation”.

According to Lauterbach, there should also be a new test concept. Negotiations for the further financing of the citizen tests are currently underway. It must be clarified who should continue to receive the citizen tests, how they are financed and how misuse is prevented. The concept should be presented in the next few days. But he assumes that “we can continue to use the citizen test in the summer”.

He also announced a more targeted use of corona drugs. At present, many available drugs are underutilized.

Infection Protection Act announced

According to Lauterbach, the Infection Protection Act should also be reformed. He is here with Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann in exchange. “Content should be developed before the summer, so it’s clear what’s in store for us before the fall,” he said. The currently applicable rules of the Infection Protection Act on Corona expire on September 23. They only contain a few so-called basic protective measures.

According to a media report, he did not comment specifically on a new, general mask requirement from October. The “Welt am Sonntag” had reported, citing government circles, that a so-called “OO rule” was under discussion. This “October to Easter rule” has so far mainly been known as a recommendation to equip cars with winter tires for this period. According to the report, the new mask requirement could continue to apply as before in public transport, medical facilities and retirement homes, but also again in retail and gastronomy.

The German Association of Cities meanwhile called for an immediate program from the federal and state governments to contain the corona summer wave. “We need quick decisions and a new federal infection protection law before the summer break,” Markus Lewe, president of the city council, told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “People must be able to reliably test and vaccinate themselves in summer too. And we need better protection and immediate action.”