The Corona summer wave currently has Germany firmly in its grip. World Medical Director Frank Montgomery is now calling for a lockdown option to be included in the Infection Protection Act.
Munich – After relaxation was in sight for a short time, the number of infections with the corona virus in Germany is increasing again. While Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann rules out a lockdown in the fall, the chairman of the World Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, is now demanding exactly that – the possibility of a corona lockdown.
Corona autumn in Germany: Montgomery for lockdown option
Montgomery appeals to politicians that the Infection Protection Act should again enable far-reaching measures to protect against corona. “Anyone who categorically excludes measures such as contact restrictions or lockdowns from the outset has neither understood the meaning of the law nor understood the seriousness of the situation,” Montgomery told the Newspapers of the Funke media group from Wednesday. “Whether the instruments are used later depends on the assessment of the situation. But it should be undisputed that you need them.”
Accordingly, the law should “open up opportunities and save lives,” says the world medical director. In principle, the “tool box” should therefore contain options for lockdowns. If the situation requires it, politicians can use it.
Corona in Germany: hotels and organizers for “proportionate steps”
The German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga) meanwhile called for proportionate steps in the fight against the corona pandemic. According to Dehoga Managing Director Ingrid Hartges, measures such as compulsory masks or rapid tests for vaccinated and unvaccinated people at major events should only be introduced if they are “necessary to combat a pandemic.” “The decisive factor must be how dangerous a virus variant is and how high the hospitalization rate is,” so Hartges to the Funke newspapers.
Jörn Holtmeier, Managing Director of the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry Auma, made a similar statement. According to this, politicians had already determined in May 2020 that trade fairs are not major events. “The trade fair industry in Germany expects the federal and state governments to stick to this agreement in the third year of Corona.” According to Holtmeier, political communication has so far been “undifferentiated”, which endangers “Germany as the world’s number one trade fair location”.
Corona autumn: according to epidemiologists, lockdown probably not necessary
Even the epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb from the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology thinks that “such a radical measure” as a lockdown in autumn and winter is probably not necessary. You only have to talk about it “when new dangerous variants appear,” he tells the editorial network Germany (RND).
However, a suitable test strategy and the protection of vulnerable groups are needed. The Munich corona expert Clemens Wendtner recommends the latter to “have the Covid 19 drug Paxlovid at home in the closet” as a precaution. It has proven itself well in practice, he says to the Augsburg General.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) are currently negotiating the future Infection Protection Act. Current regulations expire on September 23. (mef/dpa/afp)
–
