Federal-state meeting on Tuesday
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Stricter contact restrictions planned after Christmas
The omicron variant is already spreading rapidly in several European countries, and experts expect a similar development in Germany. According to a draft, the federal and state governments are therefore planning stricter contact restrictions.
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In the fight against the spread of the corona variant Omikron, the federal and state governments are considering contact restrictions after Christmas for vaccinated and recovered people. From December 28 should private gatherings of vaccinated and recovered only with a maximum of ten people be allowed. In particular, New Year’s Eve celebrations with a large number of people are not responsible in the current situation.
This is in a draft resolution that is available to the ARD capital studio and several other media. The paper should be the basis of the conference of Prime Ministers and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) taking place on Tuesday, it is still only a draft. The federal and state governments had it Meeting arranged at short notice due to the rapid spread of the omicron virus variant.
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Clubs should close, events should be allowed fewer visitors
According to the preliminary proposed resolution, the upper limit of ten people should apply to private meetings both indoors and outdoors. Children up to 14 years be of it exempt.
as soon as one ungeimpfte Person takes part in a meeting, the contact restrictions for unvaccinated people should apply again: That meeting would then on the own household and a maximum of two people of another household.
Also should close all clubs and discotheques nationwide. Indoor but also outdoor events should be held with new capacity limits be documented, but which are not yet mentioned in the proposed resolution. lockdown measures, like Large-scale business or restaurant closures are not initially planned. However, the paper makes it clear that only those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered have access to cinemas, theaters, restaurants and retail, regardless of the incidence. In addition, a current test can be prescribed. These restrictions apply nationwide.
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Müller and Woidke advocate contact restrictions
During a visit to Rome, Olaf Scholz said that on Tuesday, among other things, the private contacts of vaccinated people would be dealt with. Brandenburg Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) spoke of contact restrictions, especially on New Year’s Eve.
Michael Müller (SPD), still Governing Mayor of Berlin, made a similar statement. “When we say we don’t want a lockdown, that means you can celebrate Christmas with your family, you can meet friends, you can visit one or the other small event,” said Müller on Monday in the “Frühstart” program RTL / ntv [rtl.de]. “But there are no New Year’s Eve parties, there are no large-scale celebrations.”
At the meeting on Tuesday, Müller’s successor and party member Franziska Giffey will probably take part as governing mayor for the first time.
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Incidence is slightly increasing again
The meeting between the federal and state governments is also a reaction to the latest recommendations from the Federal Government’s Expert Council. In a statement on Sunday, he called for precautions for dramatically increasing numbers of infected people [bundesregierung.de]. “If the spread of the omicron variant in Germany continues, a relevant part of the population would be ill and/or in quarantine at the same time,” writes the expert panel. “This would put an extreme strain on the health system and the entire critical infrastructure of our country.”
In view of the expected “new dimension” of the pandemic, the Expert Council had also called for preventive protection for this critical infrastructure. This includes hospitals, police, fire brigades and electricity and water supply. The experts expect major losses in the working population due to corona infections, among other things because they may also have to look after more children or people in need of care. The council called for additional contact restrictions.
The seven-day incidence rose again slightly on Monday for the first time after the downward trend. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants per week as 316.0 – after 315.4 on Sunday.
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Several countries are reacting with lockdowns
The fact that virologists warn urgently about omicron is due to the combination of two unfavorable properties of the virus variant: On the one hand, it spreads much faster than all previous variants. Omicron multiplies in the bronchi about 70 times faster than the currently predominant delta variant, which is variant , according to an as-yet-peer-reviewed study by researchers in Hong Kong significantly more infectious [tagesschau.de].
On the other hand, it can at least partially circumvent the immune protection of humans – built up by vaccination or illness. This is indicated by laboratory tests and initial investigations in the population, for example in Denmark and Great Britain.
There, as well as in Norway and the Netherlands, the variant is already multiplying explosively. The omicron incidence in these countries doubles about every two to three days, the expert council reported.
For this reason, Great Britain has been a virus variant area since Monday, entry into Germany is only possible to a limited extent. A disaster has already been declared in London because of the consequences of the spread of the omicron. The Dutch government has decided on another nationwide lockdown so as not to react when the healthcare system is completely overloaded. This lockdown in the neighboring country has been in effect since Monday. The Portuguese government also announced a lockdown after the holidays weeks ago in order to slow down the development.
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Intensive care physicians: “relatively safe” variant prevails from mid to late January
For Germany, due to the protective measures, a somewhat slower doubling is assumed – currently every two to four days. The President of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, Gernot Marx, told the dpa that one was “relatively certain” that the variant would prevail in Germany from around mid to late January.
However, previous research results indicate that vaccinations against this variant also offer protection against severe or fatal courses. Above all, however, boosters give reason for hope: Because the booster vaccination increases protection against infection again. However, it is unclear how long it will last. “It won’t be that bad with a high booster rate, but it is probably inevitable that the number of infections will increase again,” said epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb from the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology in Bremen.
In principle, doctors and pharmacists should also push ahead with the vaccination campaign over Christmas, on the days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve and on New Year’s Eve, according to Monday’s draft resolution. Practices and vaccination centers should remain open, says the template. The goal of carrying out 30 million vaccinations by the end of the year is being adhered to.
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Broadcast: Inforadio, December 20, 2021, 5 p.m
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