Franziska Giffey in “Early Start”
“The situation is very serious”
01/19/2022 10:37 am
The situation in Berlin is precarious, as the Governing Mayor of Berlin knows, and that is why the critical infrastructure in the capital is under particular scrutiny. Against this background, Franziska Giffey is again in favor of a general obligation to vaccinate.
The Governing Mayor of Berlin, Franziska Giffey, speaks of a “very serious situation” in the corona pandemic in view of the record incidences in Berlin. “It’s now about us doing all we can to counteract this,” said the SPD politician on ntv’s “Frühstart”. “We are expanding testing, we are expanding vaccination, and now almost half of Berliners have been boosted.”
The rate of double vaccinations in the capital is almost 80 percent. Nevertheless, Berlin currently ranks second with a seven-day incidence of over 1055 after Bremen. The absolute corona hotspot in Germany is Berlin-Mitte with an incidence of 1797.5.
Therefore, according to Giffey, the critical infrastructure in Berlin is under scrutiny. “The point here is that we have set up a monitoring system so that we can react immediately,” the Governing Mayor continued. Giffey names energy, water supply, health care, but also police and fire brigades. “All of this must be prepared for a higher failure rate.”
Against this background, Giffey is again calling for a general obligation to vaccinate. “If we had a higher status, the situation would be different,” said Giffey. “And that’s why it’s very clear that pronouncing vaccination is an important point.” All 16 Prime Ministers and the Federal Chancellor supported this. “I very much hope that the appropriate steps will now be taken quickly in the Bundestag to prepare for the fall.” Giffey rules out a lockdown at the moment: “A lockdown can only ever be the last resort.” Hospitalizations are increasing, but only slightly. “I don’t think a lockdown is the right way to react to it.”