Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Return of the epidemic situation?
Dahmen calls for preparation for a hard lockdown
The Greens health expert Dahmen is calling for bars and restaurants to close in addition to clubs before today’s Prime Minister’s Conference. A hard lockdown could even be necessary in January. It is now a matter of preparing.
Before today’s federal-state round on new measures against the spread of the Omikron variant, the Greens health expert Janosch Dahmen calls for extensive preparation. “My assessment is that Omikron based on the still rampant Delta variant is an additional serious danger,” said Dahmen in the morning on ARD. “For me that means that we now need specific lockdown measures that we can initiate. That means, for example, the closure of clubs, bars and restaurants, but also a significant reduction in the number of people who come together in the interior.” With this, Dahmen goes beyond the already known resolutions that the Prime Minister’s Conference wants to initiate today.
Above all, Janosch wants to be able to take forward-looking decisions. “We must also prepare for January – should the situation develop in our country as it does in neighboring European countries – so that we can initiate a lockdown that goes beyond this and that spans social areas within a few days, rather than with lengthy consultations “demanded Dahmen. “If it should spread like in Great Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, then we will not be able to leave normal shops open. At most we will be able to keep pharmacies and grocery stores open for daily needs, but beyond that, especially in the economic field Services that need additional restrictions. “
Dahmen and Söder agree
Dahmen could imagine that because of the Corona situation, politicians will have to advise again before the turn of the year: “If that is not enough, we will have to meet with the federal and state parliaments over the holidays if necessary to decide on further measures” said Dahmen. “It may well be that if this with Omikron gets worse and it is to be feared that the epidemic situation would have to be resolved again.”
This is exactly what the federal traffic lights, co-governed by the Greens, had wanted to avoid so far. Instead, it was said that the amended Infection Protection Act would provide the countries with sufficient instruments. On Monday, Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder called for a return to the pandemic emergency. It is unclear whether the federal states governed by the CDU and CSU will agree before today’s MPK to jointly demand a return to the epidemic situation of national scope.