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More than 70,000 new infections and gloomy scenarios for Christmas put the future traffic lights under enormous pressure. The future coalition still wants to wait for its new law to take effect – but nervousness is growing.
Berlin – The growing fourth corona wave with more than 70,000 new infections in one day is putting the planned traffic light coalition under increasing pressure before taking office. More than 100,000 people have died of or with Covid-19 in Germany.
“We may start this government in the worst health crisis Germany has ever had,” said Greens leader Robert Habeck on Thursday in Berlin. Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) warned of overburdened clinics: “Every day counts here.” There are more and more calls from the countries for consistent countermeasures and speculation about imminent lockdown measures.
Braun calls for an emergency brake
Chancellery chief Helge Braun (CDU) increased the pressure on Thursday in a switching conference with his country colleagues. According to information from the German Press Agency from participants, he said: “That’s enough.” An emergency brake is now necessary. “Either the traffic light makes a law or we need a prime ministerial conference that decides on a clear emergency brake.”
EMA approves vaccine for children
With the approval of the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine for children, parents will soon be able to have their five- to eleven-year-old children vaccinated against corona. The European Medicines Agency, EMA, classified the vaccine as safe and effective on Thursday. Children aged five and over should only receive a third of the adult dose and two doses three weeks apart. According to the incumbent Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU), 2.4 million doses will be available for children in Germany as of December 20. Many paediatricians are based on the recommendation of the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko), which is still pending on the children’s vaccine.
Baerbock: “Give us 10 days”
The unchecked spread of the virus is increasingly overshadowing the formation of the new government. According to the Greens leader Annalena Baerbock, the SPD, Greens and FDP want to give each other ten days to discuss possible stricter measures. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) insists on quick new federal-state consultations – also because the new Infection Protection Act is “not appropriate to the current situation”. Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) no longer rules out a lockdown before Christmas.
“We gave ourselves ten days to see if we are with the booster vaccinations, have we come far enough with the protective measures,” said Baerbock on Wednesday evening on ARD. The planned new federal-state crisis team should examine the situation daily. The likely future Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had announced a new body. After ten days they will analyze whether further measures are necessary. So far, it is planned that the federal and state governments will check on December 9th whether the Infection Protection Act, as amended by the traffic light parties, is sufficient.
With the new law, the states no longer have the option of curfews or closings of schools, daycare centers, companies and shops in a district or even an entire state. Contact restrictions, rules on keeping your distance, the mask requirement and also access restrictions only to vaccinated and convalescent people (2G) are still possible.
Over 75,000 new infections
Again the Robert Koch Institute reported corona records: There were 75,961 new infections in 24 hours, the seven-day incidence was 419.7 infections per 100,000 inhabitants. The virus is spreading most rapidly in Saxony with an incidence of 1074.6. The number of deaths rose nationwide by 351 to 100,119. Currently there are still 2334 intensive care beds available.
Union parliamentary group leader Ralph Brinkhaus said: “We have to act intensively now.” The previously planned evaluation on December 9th was “much too late,” said Brinkhaus in the ARD. Söder told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”: “Every opportunity to improve the current crisis situation must be used.” Merkel made it clear that she considers the current development to be very dangerous. “We need more contact restrictions,” she said. According to information from the German Press Agency, the executive chancellor had offered the top of the traffic light parties on Tuesday to tighten the measures. A legal emergency brake or clear lockdown agreements with the countries would be obvious, it said.
According to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Health Minister Stefanie Drese (SPD), another lockdown should be considered. “In this current pandemic situation, I can no longer rule out anything,” said Drese of the dpa.
Intensive care patients will soon be transferred
The Air Force has two aircraft in Cologne ready for the transfer of intensive care patients in the corona pandemic. In Bavaria, Thuringia and Saxony, preparations began for the transfer of 54 Covid-19 patients to intensive care units in currently less affected areas in northern and western Germany.
From the point of view of the Bavarian Hospital Society, a nationwide relocation of intensive care patients will only help in the short term: “The currently available intensive care capacities in the north will only be able to help us for a few weeks because the occupancy is increasing there too.” According to the will of the federal health ministers, operations should be planned and states to be moved nationwide.
The start of the new crisis team is still unclear
The SPD, Greens and FDP assume that the new coalition will be made jointly responsible if gloomy scenarios of sharply rising sick and dead numbers occur in the coming weeks, as it was said in coalition circles. It remained open when the federal-state crisis team will be set up in the Chancellery. According to Scholz, the committee should begin before the traffic light takes office.
In view of the new death toll, Health Minister Spahn wrote on Twitter: “We can’t just accept it.” Looking at the vaccination is a little encouraging: within two days there have now been almost 200,000 first vaccinations. 626,000 booster vaccinations the day before are a new daily record.
The health ministers of the federal states have already called for a specific change to the new Infection Protection Act from the federal government – with regard to the new test obligations in practices, clinics and care facilities. For vaccinated and recovered employees, testing twice a week by means of a self-test is sufficient, according to a unanimous decision. According to the new law, people who have been vaccinated must also be tested daily. The countries announce that the new rules “will not be applied”. dpa
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