Pandemic is not over
Lauterbach expects a summer wave
3/5/2022 7:24 am
The Corona winter is coming to an end, the hope is growing that – as in previous years – things will get better in spring and summer. However, Minister of Health Lauterbach warns against being overly optimistic.
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach warned of the increasing number of corona infections in the summer. He considers it necessary to maintain protection options beyond March 20th. “We have to reckon with a summer wave,” said the SPD politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group. Both the delta and the omicron variant of the virus are so infectious that even in good weather, many contacts and the decreasing vaccination protection could lead to an increase in the number of infections if there were no longer any restrictions.
The Infection Protection Act must be geared to this. The federal states should have the opportunity to react at an early stage. These included the obligation to wear masks and contact restrictions. “It should be possible to set upper limits for private meetings and public events as well as access rules for restaurants, for example, i.e. 2G or 2G-plus rules,” said Lauterbach. “To do this, there must continue to be the possibility of enforcing test rules in public spaces and in companies.” All these instruments should only be used when they are actually necessary.
Lauterbach believes it is possible that the corona virus will remain for several decades. “I’m pretty sure we’ll get an autumn wave, and Corona will keep us busy for a long time after that – a decade or more,” he said. “The HIV virus appeared 40 years ago and it’s still there. We always have to reckon with corona variants, and there can also be dangerous variants.” There will always be outbreaks. “This is called the endemic phase.”
Personal responsibility decides
From March 20th, most of the Corona requirements will no longer apply. The nationwide legal basis for such measures expires on March 19. So-called basic protective measures such as the obligation to wear a mask indoors should remain in place. The Bundestag still has to discuss the exact design. Further corona measures were only removed on Friday, there are relaxations for restaurants, hotels, clubs and discos, for example.
The President of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt, called on citizens to continue wearing FFP2 masks in retail, on buses and trains. Reinhardt told the “Rheinische Post”: “In dealing with the pandemic in the future, it is crucial that people learn to deal with the risk of infection sensibly by acting independently in everyday life.” This included Reinhardt being fully vaccinated or voluntary quick tests before private parties.
The general manager of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, Gerd Landsberg, called for the maintenance of free citizen tests in the “Rheinische Post”. The vaccination centers should also “at least be kept in stand-by mode”.