Pandemic
General practitioners: Corona situation manageable – public festivals justifiable
In 2016, crowds of visitors strolled across the Oktoberfest grounds. photo
© picture alliance / dpa
Today the Oktoberfest starts in Munich and there are also celebrations in other parts of Germany in autumn. How do doctors see this in view of the pandemic situation?
The general practitioners in Germany consider the folk festivals in autumn to be justifiable given the current corona situation. “The Corona situation is currently well manageable,” said the association’s chairman, Ulrich Weigeldt, to the editorial network Germany (RND). It can be assumed that the number of infections will increase again in autumn, but the initial situation this year is “much better” than in the previous pandemic years.
“On the one hand, the currently dominant omicron variant leads to significantly milder courses, and there is also much broader immunity in the population due to the vaccinations and infections that have been passed,” said Weigeldt. “Just like going to a restaurant or pub, folk festivals are part of people’s lives,” he emphasized. The 187th Oktoberfest begins in Munich on Saturday after a two-year Corona break.
In order to maintain and expand this, Weigeldt called for the vaccination campaign to be restarted. Weigeldt advised that groups at higher risk, in particular, should protect themselves with a fourth vaccination in a timely manner. There are also still large vaccination gaps, for example with the first booster vaccination.