Berlin The new mutant of the coronavirus is spreading in Europe. In Germany alone, three suspected cases of the Omikron variant were known by Sunday, two in Bavaria and one in Hesse. There are also cases in several neighboring countries that are attributed to the mutant.
The designated Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) spoke of a “new dramatic challenge”. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on citizens to prevent a lockdown through voluntary contact restrictions. “It is important that we all act together now,” wrote Steinmeier. The economic method Veronika Gramm told the Handelsblatt: “Even without Omikron, the situation has gotten out of hand.” Politicians now have to react with drastic measures, everything else is “absurd”.
The National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina called for a rapid and significant reduction in contacts, including those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) called on the future federal government to take drastic measures. The CSU politician said that “the whole country will have to be shut down even more, unfortunately”. The Leopoldina’s warnings are “a wake-up call”.
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The statement of the National Academy of Science Leopoldina from Saturday leaves nothing to be desired in terms of clarity. It is to be feared that “parts of politics and the public will not grasp the drama of the situation to its full extent,” the statement said. Virus mutants such as the Omikron variant made “quick and consistent action even more urgent”. Unvaccinated people would have to be “motivated or made responsible”, and 30 million booster vaccinations would have to be administered by Christmas.
Politicians point to the responsibility of the countries
The scientists are particularly critical of the latest amendment to the Infection Protection Act: The expiry of the epidemic situation of national scope would result in considerable legal changes for the measures to combat pandemics.
“The problem here is that, even with extremely high incidence values and hospitalization rates, certain general measures may no longer be taken,” the scientists write. It is precisely now that clear and stringent action according to uniform criteria is required as quickly as possible.
The traffic light parties let the epidemic situation of national scope expire on November 25 and reformed the Infection Protection Act with their new majority in the Bundestag.
A phalanx of politicians from the SPD, the Greens and, above all, the FDP is now pointing to the responsibility of the countries in combating corona. These could implement many more measures such as 2G, 2G plus or 3G and also impose contact restrictions. FDP leader Christian Lindner therefore rejects tougher measures, because the federal states have “not yet used all the options” that exist to contain the virus.
In fact, the possibilities of the federal states are far from exhausted – which is why Chancellor Angela Merkel, the incumbent Health Minister Jens Spahn and Chancellery chief Helge Braun are urging a new conference of prime ministers (MPK) as soon as possible. Because the next regular meeting and also the review of the corona measures is not planned for December 9th, then with a Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Merkel hopes that a quick MPK will have a disciplinary effect. The aim could be a federal-state agreement to impose drastic contact restrictions everywhere in Germany, not only from thresholds of 1000, but from a seven-day incidence of around 300 or 400. In addition, the countries could agree to cancel major events with an audience everywhere, for example in professional football.
Area-wide lockdown can no longer be ordered
But what the federal states can no longer order since the epidemic situation of national scope was forced to expire by the traffic lights are lockdowns, nationwide school closings and curfews. Transitional rules only run until December 15th. “A lockdown through agreements between the federal states is not a realistic scenario under these conditions,” said Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) the “Spiegel”.
Another problem: The 16 prime ministers would have to decide unanimously, but they do not pull together. The latest statement by the Leopoldina could, however, help the countries move closer together.
The chairman of the conference of health ministers, Bavaria’s head of department Klaus Holetschek (CSU), demanded quick consultations on the Leopoldina’s demands. Berlin’s health senator Dilek Kalayci (SPD) called on the federal government in the “Berliner Morgenpost” to “use a federal emergency brake”.
NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU), on the other hand, considers the states to be able to act. “If additional measures have to be taken, we are able to act quickly,” he told the Handelsblatt. Laumann has already ordered that the health authorities must also send fully vaccinated people to quarantine if they have had contact with someone with the Omikron variant.
Chancellery Minister Braun puts the responsibility on the future traffic light coalition: “We urgently need a clear, competent contact person in the future government,” he told the “Bild” newspaper. SPD chancellor candidate Scholz, on the other hand, assured on the sidelines of the Juso Federal Congress in Frankfurt that there would be close cooperation between the future and the current government.
Economy calls for cooperation
Veronika Grimm, the economy, urged both sides to cooperate: “In my opinion, the executive federal government and the traffic light parties must join forces, throw their common political capital into the balance and adopt clear, targeted measures,” Grimm told Handelsblatt. “Not perfection, but the speed and effectiveness of the measures are decisive, because we are already behind the wave. In addition, foresight is required so that we don’t shimmy from one wave to the next, ”said the economist.
“Without a significantly higher vaccination rate, the situation will not be able to be brought under control,” said Grimm. “It’s time we realized what long-term damage we can do if we crawl from wave to wave with a low vaccination rate,” said Grimm. The damage she counts “the dead, the polarization, the educational losses, the social and psychological effects, the long-term economic consequences”. Other states would get a better grip on the situation.
More: From Astra-Zeneca to Valneva: These are the plans of the vaccine developers in the fight against Omikron