The Minister of Health spoke out in favor of vaccination again at Christmas and appealed to everyone to test themselves regularly over the holidays.
(Photo: imago images / Future Image)
Berlin / Düsseldorf Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach combined his Christmas greetings with an appeal for corona testing as well as thanks to vaccinators and those willing to vaccinate. “I wish us all a Merry Christmas,” wrote the SPD politician on Twitter on Saturday. “I’m going to test everyone at the family festival today. Please do that too. It can save lives. ”At the same time, the minister thanked everyone“ who are still vaccinated or are being vaccinated today. It is a gift to all of society. Thank you”. According to the chairman of the Prime Minister’s Conference, Hendrik Wüst (CDU), the pandemic will also have a strong impact on everyday life in Germany next year. The North Rhine-Westphalian head of government has already called for understanding for further difficulties.
The corona numbers in Germany recently fell. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the nationwide seven-day incidence was 242.9 on Saturday morning. For comparison: the previous day the value was 265.8, on November 25th it was 419.7 – a week ago the RKI had not presented any figures. Due to the holiday, the numbers can only be used to a limited extent. Experts fear an imminent trend reversal because of the more contagious Omikron variant.
“We are doing everything for the speedy return to normality, but we as politicians have to be honest: Corona will still keep us busy and demand a lot in the new year,” said the North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Wüst of the German Press Agency. “In the new year, too, restrictions in everyday life will remain necessary. Omikron is a whole new dimension of the challenge. ”In the coming weeks, the aim will be to significantly reduce contacts again. The citizens would also be accompanied by masks and hygiene measures for months to come. “The booster vaccinations and any other vaccinations are the most important building block in fighting the pandemic.”
The vaccination campaign continued on Christmas Eve. Around 67,000 vaccinations were administered on Friday, 51,000 of which were so-called booster vaccinations to refresh the vaccination protection (Dashboard status: Saturday, 10:31 am). The previous vaccination record was achieved on December 15 with a total of 1.6 million doses. The official start of the vaccination campaign was on December 27, 2020.
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At least 58.9 million people have been vaccinated twice or received the single vaccination from Johnson & Johnson to date. That is 70.8 percent of the total population. At least 29.9 million people have also received a “booster”. According to this, 21.7 million people are not vaccinated – 26.2 percent of the population. No approved Covid vaccine is currently available for four million of these people between the ages of zero and four (4.8 percent).
Domestic violence increased sharply during the pandemic
Meanwhile, violence in partnerships and families increased significantly during the pandemic, which has been going on for almost two years, according to the White Ring. “In 2020, domestic violence increased by around ten percent, and since 2018 by as much as 20 percent. And we will probably reach the level of 2020 again this year, ”said the federal chairman of the White Ring, Jörg Ziercke, of the dpa. In total, the volunteers in the around 400 branch offices of the victim protection organization looked after around 17,000 cases in 2020.
20 percent of this relates to domestic violence. Another 26 percent of all cases are sexual offenses. “The prognosis that domestic violence will increase with the pandemic and the lockdown and that this will become clear with a delay effect has been confirmed,” said Ziercke. A few weeks after the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, the trend jumped upwards and the willingness of the victims to get in touch increased. But that does not mean a clear brightening of the dark field.
The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) assumes that a fifth corona wave will not result in the collapse of critical infrastructures in Germany. “A fifth wave could lead to restrictions, but not to a collapse,” said a spokesman for the editorial network Germany. “There is no reason to assume that. There are reserves. We are not at the end of our game. ”It will probably take until the beginning of the year for Omikron to take full effect in Germany.
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