The corona infection numbers are stagnating at a high level. Warnings about the planned easing over the holidays are therefore louder. Bavaria’s government is now advising on new tightening of measures.
The number of infections with the corona virus in Germany remains high. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the health authorities reported 17,767 new corona infections within 24 hours. The number of cases recorded is usually lower on Sundays, partly because fewer tests are carried out on the weekend. However, the value a week ago was 14,611 new infections reported in one day.
Seven-day R-value increases
In addition, 255 further deaths in connection with a corona infection were reported. This brings the number to 18,772 deaths since the pandemic began. According to the RKI, a total of 1,171,322 people have been proven to be infected with the virus.
According to the RKI management report on Saturday, the so-called seven-day R-value was 1.10. This means that 100 infected people theoretically infect 110 more people. The previous day the value was 1.04. 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.
Concern about relaxation is growing
Against the background of the figures reported on a daily basis, there is growing concern that these will then skyrocket in the event of the relaxation agreed by the federal and state governments over Christmas and the turn of the year. There are increasing warnings from the ranks of the Union and the SPD not to take unnecessary risks.
The Association of Towns and Municipalities is also skeptical of the easing. “Depending on how the development is in the next ten days, the easing planned for Christmas and New Year’s Eve will have to be questioned again,” said General Manager Gerd Landsberg to the “Handelsblatt”. “Because this relaxation will not only lead to more contacts, but also to increased travel activities, which in turn can pose a risk.”
Contact restrictions have been in effect again since the beginning of November and were tightened in almost all federal states on December 1. Private gatherings are now limited to five participants from a maximum of two households; Children up to 14 years are excluded.
With a view to the festive season, however, the federal and state governments have agreed to allow ten people plus children from December 23 to January 1. However, not all federal states are taking part in this relaxation. Berlin, for example, remains with the lower number of permitted contacts, Baden-Württemberg only allows the larger number of people until December 27th.
Bavarian cabinet advises on tightening
In Bavaria, too, the current corona measures are being tightened. Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) has called his cabinet together for a special meeting. According to the State Chancellery, the Council of Ministers wants to advise on “further measures” via video link.
“It now needs a consistent approach,” said Söder of “Bild am Sonntag”. “We cannot accept the high number of deaths in Germany. The infection rates are still too high. It is better to act until Christmas than a permanent stop-and-go for the population.”
In the Free State, tougher steps are now conceivable, for example in the area of schools and in retail, but also greater exit restrictions. Exit restrictions already apply in hotspots such as Nuremberg or Passau. The Lower Bavarian district of Regen has one of the highest values in Germany with more than 520 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days.
Clinics are approaching their limits
Some German clinics are apparently at the limit of capacity. “In individual countries such as Saxony, the number of intensive care patients is five times as high as in April,” said the President of the German Hospital Association, Gerald Gass, of “Welt am Sonntag”. Overall, there are 40 percent more Covid 19 patients in intensive care units than in the spring; around 16,000 affected people would be cared for in normal wards.
University clinics, which have so far been able to admit corona patients with severe courses from smaller hospitals, were also approaching the load limit in some regions. In view of staff shortages, taking on such patients is becoming increasingly difficult. “It is not the intensive care beds that are the limiting factor, but the appropriately qualified staff,” he warned.
Sober statement instead of illusion
Gaß rejected criticism that the clinics would dramatize the situation in order to force more financial aid. The reintroduction of the so-called free flat rates for intensive care beds by January is the right step, but will only be of effective help for a few clinics because of the “very restrictive allocation criteria”.
In fact, many hospitals would have to restrict their standard care because of Covid-19, which threatened revenue shortfalls and liquidity problems. “It is also clear that we will run into problems if we do not manage to reduce the number of infections accordingly.” That is neither black painting nor alarmism, but a sober statement.
