Sunday 19th December 2021
“We won’t have here”
Lauterbach rules out lockdown before Christmas
In view of the lockdown in the Netherlands, corresponding demands are also being made in Germany. But Health Minister Lauterbach decides that there will be no such thing before Christmas. But he is certain that an omicron wave can no longer be prevented.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach rules out a lockdown in Germany before Christmas. “No, a lockdown like in the Netherlands before Christmas – we won’t have that here,” said the SPD politician on the ARD program “Report from Berlin”. At the same time, he made it clear that another virus wave could no longer be prevented. “The omicron wave is coming,” he said, referring to the rapidly spreading coronavirus variant. You can “no longer stop”.
“We have now exceeded a critical number of Omikron infected people,” said Lauterbach. Politicians now have to “counter” the inevitable wave of contagion. Lauterbach said: “A very central message is that with a booster campaign we can actually protect those who would otherwise be particularly at risk.” The minister announced that the results of the federal government’s new expert council would be available later that day and that they were “very relevant” recommendations on Omikron. “This is the basis for discussion,” said the minister.
The corona mutant is spreading rapidly in several European countries. The Netherlands therefore decided on a lockdown yesterday, which has been in place since 5 a.m. this morning. Almost all shops, restaurants, cultural and sports facilities, schools and hairdressers are closed, with the exception of supermarkets and pharmacies. Denmark is also tightening its measures again.
Great Britain will also be classified as a virus variant area from Monday, so travel restrictions will come into force. Lauterbach called this an important step forward. He spoke out in favor of more extensive rules: “Personally, I think it would be better if another PCR test were necessary on arrival in order to be absolutely sure.”
Critical infrastructure protection is checked
With a view to the more contagious Omikron variant and possible widespread loss of work throughout the country and among professional groups such as police officers and firefighters, the minister said: “We are actually examining how we can protect the so-called critical infrastructure if such a development occurs hope that it will not. We are doing everything we can to prevent this from happening, but we have to be prepared. ” He is working on this together with the head of the crisis team, Major General Carsten Breuer. There are prepared crisis plans from the Robert Koch Institute, the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Office for Information Security, which are currently being compiled.
Health politicians from the coalition and the opposition also brought up new lockdown measures in Germany, which should possibly be decided before Christmas. North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst called for a joint Omikron strategy from the federal and state governments.
Meanwhile, Lauterbach reiterated his plea for a general vaccination requirement with a view to the current situation. This is the only way to control the corona virus in the long term. “I believe we can handle it if we close vaccination gaps with vaccination,” he said. “The variants that are coming now are so contagious that you cannot afford to pick vaccines that are left over from voluntary vaccination.”