Rising corona numbers suggest a new wave in Europe. German pandemic manager Lauterbach sees this as something that came a long time ago.
According to the Federal Minister of Health, Karl Lauterbach (SPD), there is already a new wave of corona. “Unfortunately, the announced summer wave has come true,” he told the Rheinische Post. “It also means little relaxation in the next few weeks.” After a temporary decline in May, the number of infections is on the rise again. Greens and social organizations have been calling for a new, more effective infection protection law.
Vaccination campaign for the elderly
“Because the current variant of the virus is very easily transmissible and because almost all precautionary measures have expired, the summer effect of the pandemic will disappear this year,” Lauterbach said. “That’s why I strongly recommend that the elderly and those who have already been sick be vaccinated again. This does not necessarily prevent an infection, but it prevents serious illness,” said the minister.
“But you can’t vaccinate the wave,” Lauterbach told RTL/ntv. “Vaccines aren’t strong enough for that.” He thinks a “four-digit incidence number is possible”. It’s not a summer wave that “must or should spoil our vacation”. However, this summer will not be as relaxed as the previous one. Lauterbach recommended the use of masks indoors and a fourth vaccination for at-risk groups.
The seven-day national incidence of new infections per 100,000 population rose to 472.4 on Wednesday. In the morning, the RKI put the number of new corona cases in 24 hours at 92,344. There were 112 new deaths. There has also been an increase again in the number of treatments for people infected with corona in hospitals and intensive care units, albeit at a significantly lower level than in the first few months of the year.
“Pandemic is not over yet”
Greens health expert Janosch Dahmen told T-online: “We now have to negotiate a new infection protection law that offers the possibility, i.e. the legal basis, for the requirement to wear a mask indoors, Hygiene concepts for events, as well as the possibility of testing requirements and access restrictions if the situation calls for it in the fall.”
The dynamic development of the BA.4 and BA.5 variants shows that the pandemic is not over, Dahmen said. He is concerned that the variants are still very infectious and could partially bypass immune protection again – even in people who have already contracted an omicron variant. “This means that older and previously sick people, in particular, can become seriously ill again in the fall and winter, especially if the last vaccination was some time ago.”
Diakonie also asked the traffic light coalition to extend and enforce the Infection Protection Act, which expires in September. This is intended to prevent “a lot of absenteeism from work and serious illness and preventable death,” explained Diakonie President Ulrich Lilie. “In addition, states and municipalities need to dedicate themselves to digitizing health authorities and introducing software that has been used successfully in our neighboring countries.”
“It’s not enough that the federal health minister is talking about a summer wave,” Eugen Brysch, head of the German Patient Protection Foundation, told the AFP news agency. “To ensure that the rising number of infections does not turn into a tsunami for those in need of care and the critically ill, Karl Lauterbach must now take countermeasures.”
Time of 20 minutes of the navigation account06/15/2022, 21:25| Act: 06/15/2022, 21:25