The outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has spoken out in favor of introducing a general compulsory corona vaccination in Germany. She would vote for it if she were still a member of the Bundestag at the scheduled vote, said Merkel after a federal-state switch in Berlin. Despite all the advertising for vaccination, there is a vaccination pick. All those responsible had hoped that the voluntary vaccination would be better accepted. Merkel’s likely successor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had announced that a general vaccination requirement should be voted on in the Bundestag without parliamentary group discipline.
Even before the Prime Minister’s Conference (MPK) there was a general obligation to vaccinate, which is to be voted on in the Bundestag. The federal and state governments want to ask the Ethics Council for a recommendation by the end of the year. Such an obligation could possibly apply from February 2022.
The federal government and the prime ministers of the federal states have also agreed on stricter measures in the fight against the pandemic. Merkel spoke of an “act of national solidarity” that was necessary to reduce the number of infections and to relax the situation at the hospitals. The infection situation has calmed down, but on a much too high level.
Nationwide contact restrictions are planned for unvaccinated people. Meetings in which unvaccinated people take part should in principle only be possible with one’s own household and two people from another household. Children under the age of 14 are excluded. The adopted measures are minimum standards, the states could also tighten them.
In the future, only those who have been vaccinated or those who have recovered from an infection will have access to shops, cultural and leisure events. The 2-G rule, which is already in force in some countries, is to be expanded nationwide and apply regardless of the respective incidence.
A general mask requirement should apply in schools; even where this has not been the case so far. Clubs and discos are closed when there are high numbers of corona infections due to the risk of infection. This applies from a seven-day incidence of 350 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants, said Merkel. A sales ban on fireworks should apply for New Year’s Eve, said NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst, who is also chairman of the MPK. There should be a ban on fireworks at public places. The federal and state governments have decided on a corresponding regulation as last year.
Full Bundesliga stadiums like last weekend will no longer be available in the near future. The federal and state governments are planning audience restrictions at major events. While some countries are already betting on ghost games, nationwide only a maximum of 30 to 50 percent of spectators should be allowed to attend sports, cultural and other major events. Inside, the load should be capped at 5000, outdoors at 15,000 spectators. Access is only available to vaccinated and convalescent people with medical masks.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, 30 million first, second and booster doses are to be given out, “if it is somehow achievable,” said Scholz, speaking of an “ambitious goal”. Because general practitioners and vaccination centers can hardly keep up, more people should be able to inject vaccines in the future. This also includes pharmacists, nurses and dentists. A new federal-state crisis team in the Chancellery is to tackle possible logistics problems under the direction of Major General Carsten Breuer.
Because the vaccination protection wears off some time after the immunization, the vaccination status will not be able to be considered double or complete in the long term, said Merkel. It is also being discussed at EU level that the second vaccination will lose its validity after nine months, so boosting is very important. The transition periods would be such that everyone would have a chance to renew their vaccination status. (02.12.2021)
Nationwide incidence falls again to 439.2
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reports 73 209 new infections within 24 hours. That’s 2,752 fewer cases than on Thursday a week ago when 75,961 were reported. The seven-day incidence drops to 439.2 from 442.9 the previous day. The value indicates how many people per 100,000 inhabitants have contracted the coronavirus in the past seven days. 388 other people died from the virus. This increases the number of reported deaths within one day to 102,178. In total, more than 5.97 million corona tests have so far been positive in Germany. (02.12.2021)
Lauterbach calls for strict contact restrictions for unvaccinated people
SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach urges significantly stricter measures to break the fourth corona wave. “Firstly, all pupils have to wear masks in class until the Christmas holidays and have themselves tested daily in school,” says Lauterbach Rheinische Post. “Second, the number of people who have not been vaccinated should be greatly reduced nationwide, preferably to just one person outside of their own household.” Thirdly, 2D rules are needed across the board in public life, including in retail.
“But because 25 percent of infections are passed on through people who have been completely vaccinated, 2-G-plus should be compulsory in restaurants, for example,” said Lauterbach. Fourth, all bars, clubs and discos should close immediately until the fourth wave is over. “And fifthly, all hospitals in Germany should switch to emergency operation immediately and postpone all operations that can be planned in order to keep enough capacity free for corona patients and emergencies.” (02.12.2021)
Braun wants an incidence between 300 and 400 as a new limit value for more stringent measures
The executive minister of the Chancellery, Helge Braun (CDU), is in favor of an incidence value between 300 and 400, from which strict measures should be taken to contain the corona. “As long as we were not vaccinated, it was clear: from a value of 100 it becomes dangerous. Action from an incidence of 1000, as some countries are currently doing, is far too late. We need a limit, which in my opinion – with a view to the vaccination success was now – roughly equivalent to an incidence of 300 to 400, “says Braun Rheinische Post. It follows that the contact reduction in unvaccinated people must be “very large”.
“Distance and mask rules must apply to everyone, we advise everything else. But one thing is clear: the infection rate among unvaccinated people is currently ten times as high as among vaccinated people.” He is aware that compulsory vaccination leads to division in society, “but also a never-ending pandemic”. (02.12.2021)
Retail fears sales losses in the case of nationwide 2-G rules
The retail trade fears falling sales and job losses as a result of nationwide 2-G rules. “In the middle of the Christmas business, the affected retailers lose up to 50 percent of their sales,” says Stefan Genth, General Manager of the German Trade Association (HDE), the newspapers of the Funke media group. “After the already exhausting lockdowns of the past few months, many cannot cope with that.” The 2-G regulations for retailers led to increased control efforts and, as a result, to queues in front of the shops. That scares many customers from shopping.
The Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft (IW) takes a similar view. “We are assuming that 2 G would lead to a drop in sales of around 5.3 billion euros in stationary retail in December,” said IW expert Christian Rusche to the editorial network in Germany. One must consider that the companies suffer from massive restrictions already in the second year during the important Christmas business. “A widespread introduction of 2 G would hit smaller businesses especially hard. There are many indications that numerous owners would consider whether it is still worth opening the business. For this reason, it would make sense to provide financial aid to those affected Expand trading companies and remove bureaucratic hurdles in granting aid. ” (02.12.2021)
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