How do we break the 4th wave? – Chancellor Merkel warns again of difficult times – domestic politics

The fourth corona wave breaks new records every day.

► The nationwide 7-day incidence rose to a new high of 277 yesterday.

► The RKI reported more than 1100 corona deaths in the past seven days.

► The number of Covid sufferers in intensive care units is approaching the 3000 mark.

► Busy clinics have to relocate patients.

The alarm calls from doctors and scientists are getting louder. And the Chancellor?

Angela Merkel (66) swore the Germans on Saturday by video address: “There are very difficult weeks ahead of us.”

Almost the same choice of words as in autumn 2020 when she said: “Now we are facing difficult months.” On Saturday as then, she announced a “national effort”.

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But how can the fourth wave be broken?

Merkel demanded that the federal and state governments should agree on a new uniform threshold for the number of corona patients in hospitals at the Corona conference on Thursday, from which additional containment measures must be taken.

A spokeswoman for the intensive care medicine association Divi said to BILD am SONNTAG: “The hospitalization value alone is not important for intensive care physicians. The decisive factor for us is how many patients ultimately have to go to the intensive care unit in the hospital. “

What measures remain to prevent clinic overload, deaths and lockdowns?

Vaccinations and boosters

Leading medical professionals are calling for a “vaccination and booster offensive”. Conclusion: the faster you boost, the earlier the wave can be broken. To do this, however, one percent of the population would have to receive the third vaccination per day – more than five times as many as currently.

Intensive care physicians are also calling for the booster vaccination to be given five instead of six months after the primary vaccination. In addition, around three million people over 60 have not yet been vaccinated.

On Saturday evening it became known that Saarland’s Interior Minister Klaus Bouillon (73, CDU) is corona infected despite the booster vaccination. At first it was not known when he received the booster vaccination.

Compulsory vaccination

More and more professional associations welcome the recommendation of the Ethics Council for a job-related vaccination requirement, including the German Medical Association and the German Nursing Council.

Prof. Alexander Ehlers (66), doctor and lawyer, says about BILD am SONNTAG: “In a few weeks we will no longer be able to avoid compulsory vaccination. All other measures have already been exhausted and have not been sufficient to cope with the pandemic. ”

A vaccination requirement could even go beyond the health system.

2-G and 3-G

2-G applies in more and more regions and areas of life: access only for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered. Many cities are planning 2-G Christmas markets at which unvaccinated people are not allowed to celebrate, even with a negative test, while a Saxon mayor wants 1-G Christmas markets: only for those who have been tested.

In general, rapid tests (as of yesterday, once a week for free) are becoming more important. The traffic light coalition partners are working on a 3-G plan for the world of work.

SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach (58) is also thinking of passenger transport: “3-G should also apply in trains. In this corona situation, it is irresponsible that unvaccinated and untested people sit close to other passengers for hours in long-distance traffic. “

Without 3-G, 50 percent of the seats in ICEs and ICs would have to remain free, which would hardly be reasonable for vaccinated people during the Christmas season.

What if everything is not enough? According to the Insa survey for BILD am SONNTAG, 60 percent of Germans expect there will be a lockdown this year anyway.

Photo: BILD

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