Thursday, December 9th, 2021
Update
New corona requirements?
The federal and state governments are waiting for the crisis teams
The government is new, the problems old: The corona pandemic is also the dominant topic at the first federal-state round under Scholz. The Chancellor stressed the urgency that everyone should be vaccinated. The vote of the crisis teams should now be decisive for the further course of action. It’s coming next week.
The federal and state governments are not planning any additional corona restrictions over the Christmas holidays for the time being. It was said afterwards that the situation will continue to be monitored. In principle, however, new measures are apparently not off the table: In the next week, a planned expert council is to come together for more precise assessments of the new virus variant Omikron, as North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst made clear after consultations in Berlin. If necessary, this gain in knowledge should also be used to act.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz also made it clear that they wanted to first obtain scientific expertise and see whether the measures were sufficient. If necessary, further decisions would also come on the agenda at short notice. He emphasized that the very far-reaching restrictions that had been decided would also apply over Christmas and the New Year, especially for those who had not been vaccinated.
Berlin’s Governing Mayor Michael Müller said that new general contact restrictions had no role in the round. He emphasized that there was no need to dig in for Christmas. “You can meet family and friends, the question is: how?” It is not wise to get together with 20 or more people without paying attention to protection.
30 million vaccinations feasible
At the same time, Scholz pledged joint efforts with the countries to significantly accelerate the corona vaccinations in Germany. In view of the knowledge about changes in the virus occurrence, it is all the more urgent that as many as possible now get a booster, said the SPD politician with a view to the new Omikron variant. To this end, new vaccination offers should be created in addition to the existing ones, for example in the form of mobile vaccination teams and in the vaccination centers. Scholz confirmed the goal of achieving up to 30 million first, second and booster vaccinations by the end of the year.
“We had a very intense MPK tonight,” said the SPD politician. Wüst also praised the talks and welcomed the amendments to the Infection Protection Act, which gave the countries more opportunities. But he also advocated keeping an eye on what was happening. “We have to use the high beam and not just drive on sight,” said the CDU politician.
There are scientific doubts that the existing corona protective measures will be sufficient if the omicron variant continues to spread, said Wüst. The compulsory vaccination in medical facilities and nursing homes to protect particularly vulnerable people must therefore be implemented “as quickly as possible”. The advice on the general compulsory vaccination should not be delayed. Because of the fourth corona wave, speed is needed to protect the elderly in particular. “Vaccination is and will remain the most powerful weapon in the fight against the virus,” said Wüst.
Scholz looks at the creation of a vaccination register to record people with corona vaccination with some skepticism. The planned general compulsory vaccination is also about ways to control them. He does not want to anticipate this, but formulate his skepticism about a vaccination register that was previously discussed. The German Association of Towns and Municipalities had suggested such a register. Such a register already exists in Austria.
Müller praises Lauterbach’s expertise
The NRW head of government also underlined the importance of a joint federal-state strategy for the procurement of corona drugs. The point is that drugs arrive quickly at the patient immediately after a positive corona test. In addition, the pace must be accelerated with approvals and possibly also drug research in this area should be specifically promoted.
A common drug strategy could be a second pillar in addition to vaccination, in order to prevent particularly severe disease courses and overloading of the intensive care units, said Wüst. Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach has confirmed that. Lauterbach was connected according to information from participants. More and more corona drugs are being approved and put on the market, said Wüst. “It is always crucial that treatment is given early, not just when people with shortness of breath go to the doctor.” Educational work is necessary for this.
Berlin’s Governing Mayor Müller welcomed the fact that the new head of department Lauterbach – like he was a member of the SPD – had brought technical expertise to the group. It was immediately noticeable, “how the new Federal Minister of Health, with a deep technical knowledge of the matter and with great expertise, was able to give answers to detailed questions. That is important for us, that is important for the federal states.” Lauterbach gave a perspective as to when new findings about the virus variant can be expected.
In addition to the pandemic, other topics at the federal-state summit were the increasing agitation and hatred in social networks and messenger services such as Telegram. In this regard, legal violations would have to be punished consistently, said Wüst. Democracy must remain strong, even in the digital world. Polarization, hatred and division should not stand a chance.