“Corona remains dangerous”: Health Minister Lauterbach has renewed his appeal to be careful with a view to Christmas and to get vaccinated. It is currently advisable to wear a mask on buses and trains.
In view of the current Corona wave, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has once again called for caution and more vaccinations in the run-up to Christmas. “Corona remains dangerous. It is not a cold that you can safely catch every season,” said the SPD politician to “Bild am Sonntag”. Rather, Corona often also affects the blood vessels or weakens the immune system and therefore far too often cannot be completely cured.
If you want to avoid getting sick at Christmas as much as possible, you should get vaccinated as quickly as possible in the next few days – “preferably against flu and corona at the same time,” said Lauterbach. The Standing Vaccination Commission recommends corona vaccinations or booster vaccinations for people aged 60 and over and with other risk factors such as chronic illnesses.
The minister also advised “it would be better to wear a mask on buses and trains” and to stay in the home office. He also recommended avoiding large indoor celebrations. If in doubt, it is better to take a corona test quickly “before we meet older, sick people”.
Increasing viral load in wastewater
The Ministry of Health’s so-called pandemic radar had detected a sharp increase in viral loads in wastewater in recent weeks. Because fewer and fewer people are reporting positive corona tests, measurements in wastewater are considered an indicator of spreading viral infections. According to the data, which is always published with a significant delay, the viral load rose by 54 percent in the week from November 23rd to 29th compared to the previous week.
There had already been a significant increase beforehand. That is why the admissions of sick people to hospitals and the number of Covid patients in intensive care units are increasing again. Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, 178,076 deaths have been registered in Germany in which people died from or with a corona infection.
Eva Ellermann, ARD Berlin, tagesschau, December 10, 2023 6:16 p.m