The rapid spread of the Omikron virus variant in Europe is also putting the new federal government in Germany under pressure. It is unclear whether even stricter corona measures will be taken in the short term. “If the Omikron wave starts to run up in the old year, we have to consult quickly,” said Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) calling for rapid federal-state talks. Again there were demonstrations against the Corona measures.
Thousands of people took to the streets in Nuremberg. “Obligation to think instead of mandatory vaccination” and “No to mandatory vaccination”, it was said, among other things, on the demonstrators’ posters. “The” lateral thinkers “were able to mobilize between 10,000 and 12,000 participants,” said a spokesman for the Central Franconian police headquarters. Some of the participants also traveled across the region.
At a parallel rally by the Bavarian AfD in the city center, at which the parliamentary group leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, are expected, the police counted around 2,000 people. A similar number of counter-demonstrators protested in the area. Left groups also marched through the city amid loud shouts. In addition, according to the police, around 100 citizens formed a “human chain for human rights” in the city center. With candles they wanted to remember the corona dead and set a sign for solidarity and against the enemies of democracy.
The nationwide seven-day incidence fell again. The Robert Koch Institute stated the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week as 315.4 on Sunday morning – on Saturday it was 321.8. However, due to the more contagious Omicron variant, experts fear an imminent trend reversal. The German Hospital Society warned of the worsening situation in the clinics.
In other European countries, Omikron is spreading extremely quickly. A new strict lockdown has been in effect in the Netherlands since Sunday. Denmark is also shutting down large parts of public life. Due to the lightning-fast spread of the variant, the situation in Great Britain has also worsened in recent days. The entry from Great Britain to Germany will therefore be drastically restricted from Monday.
Great Britain is then considered a virus variant area. A two-week quarantine obligation applies to those entering the country – including those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered. It cannot be shortened by negative tests. Airlines are essentially only allowed to carry German citizens or people living in Germany from Great Britain to Germany. But it is not a flight ban. The rule also applies to rail or ship traffic.
In any case, Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Kretschmann feels badly informed by the new federal government made up of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP. He has not yet received any information about the Omikron variant from the government’s newly established panel of experts, he said. “Time is of the essence, so I expect that we get a booth quickly. If you set up such a body, the information must also arrive,” said the Green politician. A report from the panel of experts is expected soon.
Kretschmann said he was very alarmed by what he was hearing about Omikron. “But we are dependent on the assessments of the experts. What does that mean for vaccination protection? When does science expect that Omikron is dominant? We have to know that, but I cannot evaluate that myself.” Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) said: “We have to prevent the spread of Omikron for as long as possible and slow it down as much as possible so that even more people can be vaccinated.”
A high vaccination rate is a central component in the strategy of the new federal government. The head of the new Corona crisis team in the Chancellery, Major General Carsten Breuer, was confident that the government’s target of 30 million vaccinations can be achieved by the end of the year. More than 24.4 million people have been vaccinated since mid-November. There are now just under two weeks left. “The 30 million can be created,” said Breuer of “Bild am Sonntag”. The vaccination target is calculated based on a federal-state round on November 18th. The pace must also be maintained in the Christmas season.