The health minister of North Rhine-Westphalia makes a statement about the Omikron variant for ridicule and malice. But there are also dissenting voices. Now his ministry is reacting.
Update from Tuesday, December 29th, 2021, 9.55 a.m .: After the North Rhine-Westphalian Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann caused a stir on Monday with statements about the Omikron variant (see first report), the responsible ministry in North Rhine-Westphalia has now published a clarification. A statement on Twitter said that Laumann was “naturally” aware that the coronavirus was mainly transmitted via aerosols.
Laumann had referred to a report from the Cologne health department in the WDR’s “Current Hour”. The statement said: “In today’s interview he (Laumann, editor’s note) had on the one hand simply the content of a report from the city of Cologne” to the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of the State of North Rhine- Westphalia “reproduced”. According to the statement, the report from Cologne said: “The spread behavior observed with the Omikron variant is more similar to that of airborne infections (e.g. measles). This means that the spread is no longer tied to just droplets. “
Omikron: NRW health minister embarrassed himself with corona statement
First report from Monday, December 28th, 2021, 9.30 a.m .: Düsseldorf – Karl-Josef Laumann, Minister of Health of North Rhine-Westphalia, has made statements on the corona-Spreading * the Omicron variant* caused a stir. The 64-year-old spoke in the WDR format “Current Hour” about the mutant and referred to an assessment of the Cologne health department about the current situation: “They say very clearly: The new thing about this Omikron variant is that it does not get through Droplets, but rather that they are also transmitted through the air in a similar way to measles. “
On Twitter, numerous users were amused, but also shocked by the statement made by Karl-Josef Laumann. “By which intellectually disadvantaged people are we actually governed in North Rhine-Westphalia,” wrote one user.
NRW Minister of Health Laumann causes a stir with Omikron statement
In fact, Laumann’s assessment of the Omikron variant is anything but new: As early as 2020, scientists reported that Sars-CoV-2 spreads primarily through the air we breathe, through so-called aerosols. This also applies to the omicron variant of the coronavirus, which is considered more infectious compared to other variants.
![Karl-Josef Laumann](https://www.merkur.de/bilder/2021/12/28/91204245/27783559-karl-josef-laumann-2qfe.jpg)
“Aerosols are mixtures of solid or liquid particles (” suspended particles “) in a gas or gas mixture (for example air),” reports das Federal Environment Agency. “A transmission of the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus by aerosols is possible in certain situations over greater distances, for example if many people come together in insufficiently ventilated indoor spaces and there is increased production and accumulation of aerosols,” shares for example Federal Center for Health Education With.
In addition to ridicule and malice, Laumann also received other reactions on social networks. Several users emphasized that it was not clear from the WDR report what Laumann was specifically referring to. In the “Current Hour”, the 2G-Plus model for indoor fitness studios and sports facilities was discussed beforehand. In addition, users pointed out that it was unclear which assessment by the Cologne Health Department the NRW Minister of Health was referring to.
With regard to the Omicron variant, a virologist also recently commented Christian Drosten*. He shared “good” news.* (tu) * fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
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