Wednesday December 22, 2021
“No red lines”
Lauterbach does not rule out a hard lockdown
The Robert Koch Institute recommends that you shut down your contacts as much as possible, and do so immediately. The federal and state governments lag behind the demand in their decisions. Health Minister Lauterbach emphasizes that the next lockdown is not off the table.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has defended the latest federal and state resolutions to contain the corona virus, but does not want to rule out tougher steps. “What we decided today has an effect”, Lauterbach assured on Tuesday evening in the ARD “Tagesthemen”. “But we’re not ruling anything out. So if the number of cases actually developed in such a way that a hard lockdwon would have to be discussed, then there would be no red lines. At the moment we are not there.”
In order to curb the rapid spread of the Omikron variant, the federal and state governments have adopted extensive restrictions on private and public life. But they should only apply after Christmas. From December 28th at the latest, an upper limit of ten people should generally apply for private meetings. Chancellor Olaf Scholz also agreed with the state premiers to close clubs and discos and empty tiers at football games and other major events. Objections came from Saxony and Baden-Wuerttemberg, the resolutions in both countries did not go far enough, which they noted in a memo in the minutes.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) called for much more far-reaching measures on Tuesday shortly before the federal-state round, including immediate maximum contact restrictions, the closure of restaurants and extended Christmas holidays. This sparked criticism during the deliberations. According to the participants, Lauterbach had said in der Schalte that there was no scientific censorship, but that the publication was “not coordinated”. That shouldn’t happen.
In the ARD, Lauterbach expressed himself more cautiously in the evening. “I also attach great importance to the scientific advice from the RKI, we work hand in hand. But within the framework of the scientific work of the RKI, there can sometimes be a requirement that we do not implement immediately,” he said. Together with RKI President Lothar Wieler, Lauterbach wants to inform again about the Corona situation in Germany this Wednesday in Berlin.