Sunday 19th December 2021
“Anyone who warns must act”
CDU accuses Lauterbach of exaggeration
Health Minister Lauterbach is convinced that there will be a massive wave of omicrons. CDU boss Merz, on the other hand, demands “a reasonable amount” and “confidence” from the SPD politician. The health policy spokesman for the Union, Sorge, criticized the fact that Lauterbach did not present “any concrete data”.
The Union holds Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach to overstate the threat posed by the Coronavirus variant Omikron. The designated CDU boss Friedrich Merz told the “Bild am Sonntag”: “Nobody denies Karl Lauterbach’s expertise, but unfortunately he tends to be very exaggerated in certain situations.” He demanded: “He will now have to find a reasonable level in office and, above all, he must give people confidence again that at some point we will have the pandemic behind us.”
The “Bild am Sonntag” also quotes the health policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group, the Magdeburg CDU member Tino Sorge: “So far, the minister has not presented any concrete data to support his prognoses,” criticized Sorge. Lauterbach had said in a press conference on Friday: “I am assuming a massive fifth wave.” The impending wave of omicrons will become a “massive challenge for our hospitals, for our intensive care units, but also for society as a whole,” he said.
Concern said: “He who warns must also act.” If Lauterbach assesses the situation so seriously, he must “push for a short-term conference of prime ministers before the holidays”. The federal and state governments would then have to “sharpen their course for the turn of the year”.
Lauterbach had consulted with the health ministers of the federal states on Saturday. The result was the demand for stricter entry rules in order to slow down the entry of the Omikron variant. Travelers from countries that are classified as virus variant areas should only be allowed to enter the country on presentation of a negative PCR test, according to a decision taken by the Conference of Health Ministers on Saturday. The test should not be older than 48 hours upon departure. Rapid tests should not be accepted.