More than 28,000 new infections, almost 500 deaths within 24 hours – the corona numbers remain high. The lockdown will therefore be tightened nationwide. The only disputed question is when.
Within one day, the health authorities in Germany sent 28,438 new corona infections to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Compared to yesterday, when 29,875 reported cases were the highest since the pandemic began, the number has decreased slightly. Compared to the Saturday of the previous week, however, it increased significantly.
The number of people who die from or with Corona also remains high. The health authorities reported 496 new deaths within one day. The number of daily deaths had tended to go up recently, which was expected after the steep increase in new infections.
According to the RKI management report on Friday, the nationwide seven-day R-value was 1.11 (previous day: 1.03). This means that 100 infected people theoretically infect 111 more people. The value represents the occurrence of the infection 8 to 16 days ago. If it is below 1 for a long time, the infection process subsides.
The federal and state governments will probably advise on Sunday
In view of the many new infections, some federal states have already decided to take stricter measures. Presumably, the “lockdown light” will shortly be tightened everywhere in Germany. It is still unclear when and how. The federal government and the federal states will be discussing this this weekend in order to arrive at the most uniform regulations possible in all federal states. There is not yet a confirmed date for the consultations, according to information from ARD capital studios start on Sunday morning.
According to the “Bild” newspaper, the Chancellery is calling for shops, schools and daycare centers to be closed starting next Wednesday. It remains to be seen whether the heads of government of all federal states will join. In previous consultations, the federal government was often unable to assert its ideas. Responsibility for appropriate measures lies largely with the federal states.
Kretschmer: Saxony sticks to the “hard way”
In politics, however, there is a general consensus that the regulations must be tightened. The main topic of discussion is the question of whether public life will not be massively shut down until Christmas – i.e. a time is used when schools and many companies are closed anyway – or whether that is too late.
Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann assumes that the lockdown will definitely come well before Christmas. The people would have to be prepared for the fact that next week social and economic life would be shut down as much as possible, said the Green politician, referring to the deliberations tomorrow.
Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer told “Spiegel” that his country would definitely stick to the “hard path” it had already taken. In Saxony, the state that currently has particularly high numbers of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants, a hard lockdown will apply from Monday.
At the federal-state consultations, he would advocate “that one can only visit nursing homes with a negative rapid test. And that exit restrictions only make sense when schools, daycare centers and shops are also closed,” Kretschmer continued. He also wants to campaign for ski areas all over Germany to remain closed for the entire season – and not just into January.
“We mustn’t wait any longer”
“We can’t wait any longer, we need a lockdown before Christmas”, demanded NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet in the daily topics. The “lockdown light” decided in autumn did not work as hoped, the numbers are too high, according to the CDU politician.
“Rules must be understandable”
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig spoke out in favor of a nationwide lockdown, which should apply no later than Sunday next week. “There is a lot of talk about it from Christmas onwards. I think that is too late. I think that we should at least go to the fourth Advent,” said the SPD politician ARD extra. “It is clear that we need a nationwide rule for this.”
City Council President Burkhard Jung also spoke out in favor of a nationwide, uniform and hard lockdown before Christmas. “A complete lockdown must apply nationwide,” said the Leipzig mayor of the “Rheinische Post”. It should not happen that the retail trade is closed in country A and open in country B. “And the rules must be clear, understandable and as uniform as possible. Because people must be able to understand them well.”
FDP: Be moderate in a dangerous situation
The FDP, the Left and the Greens are also calling for the measures to be tightened. FDP leader Christian Lindner warned again to maintain proportionality. In particular, he rejects exit restrictions. The federal and state governments would have to be moderate in the dangerous situation. “Lump-sum and nationwide curfews like in Bavaria are unnecessary and overshoot the mark.” There is no risk of infection from walking or exercising in the open air. “Bans that are not related to the infection risk risk acceptance by the population.”
Only the AfD does not believe in a lockdown despite the current high number of infections and deaths. The collateral damage of this “mallet method” is greater than its benefit, said parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel a few days ago in the Bundestag.
Altmaier: No new stimulus package needed
A lockdown also shuts down economic life. It is to be expected, for example, that as in the spring, all shops that do not sell everyday items will have to close. However, Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier does not assume that this will necessitate a further economic stimulus program.
“The German economy is strong enough, we just mustn’t burden it with unnecessary bureaucracy or talk about additional taxes,” said the CDU politician to the editorial network Germany. “The self-healing powers of our economy are working.” He is betting that the losses of 2020 could be fully offset in the coming year.
