A Christmas lockdown is off the table for the time being – and yet the fear remains that we will be lost after the party Corona expect more severe restrictions again.
For the time being, country bosses and agreed Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (63, SPD) on contact restrictions for vaccinated people, ghost games and a ban on dancing to the upcoming Omicron wave to keep in check.
But it remained a poison summit – also because not everyone was convinced that the measures decided would be enough. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (58, SPD) believes that the steps will have an effect – but he also made it clear after the summit: A lockdown back door always remains open!
In the ARD Tagesthemen, Lauterbach said on Tuesday evening: “We’re not ruling anything out. So if the number of cases actually developed in such a way that a hard lockdown also had to be discussed, then there would be no red lines. ” A statement that should also calm the irritable mood between the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and politics.
Even before the summit there was a huge bang on Tuesday! With a shock paper, the RKI had given the Bund-Länder round on the way that “maximum contact restrictions” were necessary IMMEDIATELY to contain the pandemic. In addition, the institute, under the leadership of Lothar Wieler (60), called for an extension of the Christmas holidays for schools and daycare centers.
Foto: Getty Images
“data-zoom-src =” https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/was-kom-nach-dem-gipfel-knall-rki-chef-lothar-wieler-und-gesundheitsminister-lauterbach-531571a69dbf433dabadf4134bbd4e02-78616636/ Image / 4.bild.jpg “/> What comes after the summit bang? RKI boss Lothar Wieler and Minister of Health LauterbachFoto: Getty Images
A communicative solo effort that was met with incomprehension among Lauterbach and other meeting participants – which is why Lauterbach clearly put the RKI in its place. For him, the Federal Government’s Expert Council (which also includes RKI boss Wieler) is binding: “I have no scientific censorship.” However, the publication of the requirements for measures BEFORE the summit was “not coordinated” and “not ideal”.
After the deliberations were over, Lauterbach expressed himself more diplomatically on the ARD, declaring: “I attach great importance to the scientific advice also from the RKI, we work hand in hand. But within the framework of the scientific work of the RKI, there can sometimes be a requirement that we do not implement immediately. “
Spicy: On Wednesday (from 12.30 p.m.) Lauterbach and Wieler will sit together again on the podium to provide information about the current developments in the pandemic at a press conference. BILD shows the press conference live on TV.
Baden-Württemberg and Saxony dissatisfied
Meanwhile, resistance to the summit resolutions arose in individual federal states. Baden-Württemberg and Saxony made their dissatisfaction with the results of the conference clear in a protocol statement. It said: “They do not guarantee sufficient capacity to act to be able to react quickly to a worsening situation, as forecast by the Scientific Expert Council in its statement of December 19, 2021.” Both countries called on the Federal Government and the Bundestag to To give countries all legal options for action again.
Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (46, CDU) spoke of a “missed opportunity”. He assumes that there will be a need for further action before the next federal-state round on January 7th. “From my point of view, it is to be expected that January 7th will be too late. The momentum we are currently experiencing is very high. ”He believes that there will be votes and discussions beforehand.
On January 7th, Chancellor Scholz wants to meet again with the country chiefs to discuss how to fight the pandemic. Until then, the rules that have now been adopted apply: Only up to ten vaccinated or recovered people may meet in private, and clubs and discos will be closed; Football matches and other major events take place in front of empty stands.
That’s what the clinics say
In addition to the RKI and the two federal states mentioned, the clinics are also preparing for a new dimension of the pandemic. The German Hospital Society called the contact restrictions “necessary, but possibly not sufficient”. It is therefore necessary that the situation continues to be monitored and analyzed on a daily basis, said CEO Gerald Gass, the newspapers of the Funke media group. “If necessary, adjustments must then be made at short notice.”
Because: Even if the incidences are currently falling (to 289 on Wednesday), experts agree: A trend reversal due to the new Omikron variant is imminent. The Saarbrücken-based modeler Thorsten Lehr told the broadcaster ntv, depending on the measures, the incidences could be around 1000 at the beginning of the year. Lehr warned: “We really see a relatively strong wall coming our way.”
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