Berlin While Germany’s neighboring countries are relaxed during the Corona summer, preparations for the Corona autumn are underway on many fronts in this country. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) said on Friday in Berlin that he would have to have the “unpleasant discussion” in the summer. Otherwise he won’t be able to get the necessary laws in place by the fall.
And there are currently some of these unpleasant discussions. The draft by Lauterbach and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) for a new infection protection law for the fall is already in place. However, the federal states do not want to be satisfied with this, and there are also some change requests in the traffic light coalition.
To make matters worse, the course of the autumn and winter wave is still largely unknown. It can only be guessed at what the country will face – and therefore it is not possible to say with certainty whether the planned measures for the coming waves are sufficient or too strict.
Lauterbach outlined on Friday how he looks at the fall, announced details of new vaccines – and announced further steps towards the new Infection Protection Act. The Corona summer wave was broken, he said at the federal press conference in Berlin. However, this is no reason to give the all-clear in the pandemic.
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It is to be expected that the number of cases will rise sharply again in autumn. People would spend more time indoors again, and school lessons would start again. “We will find a situation with so many cases in the fall,” he said, that all federal states would tighten their measures.
New Infection Protection Act: Countries are allowed to adopt tougher rules
According to the draft for a new infection protection law, the federal states can adopt stricter rules at their own discretion that go beyond the basic protection prescribed by the federal government. This only includes a mask requirement for long-distance travel and in medical facilities.
The stricter level of regulation provides, for example, for masks to be worn indoors, such as in cultural areas, restaurants and fitness studios. Exceptions should apply to people with a current test or proof of recovery or those whose vaccination was not more than three months ago.
Lauterbach said on Friday that he assumed that all federal states would already start with this tightened standard at the beginning of the new Infection Protection Act in October. A meeting of the state chancellery is planned for next Tuesday to discuss the corona protection plan again.
The countries had criticized the fact that there were no clear criteria for the different stages of the protection plan. In addition to the stricter rules, the so-called “winter tires”, “snow chains” are also planned, which contain upper limits for major events and stipulated hygiene concepts and overturn the exceptions to the mask requirement.
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The protection plan is not “carved in stone,” said Lauterbach with a view to the demands of the federal states. He was curious to see what suggestions they would put forward to him for specific criteria. However, he does not believe in limit values, since there are now too many parameters that are included in the assessment of the infection situation. A general description is more legally secure, he said. He therefore assumes that the new Infection Protection Act will come about as he had proposed. He also rejected the criticism of the exceptions to the mask requirement.
country reactions
The reaction from the countries followed promptly. Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) accused Lauterbach of a lack of willingness to compromise. “On the one hand, he demands that the countries make concrete proposals to him, on the other hand, he makes it clear from the outset that he thinks threshold values are pointless,” he said. “But I would like to remind you that it is the countries that have to apply the law afterwards.” Even with “winter tires and snow chains” you could get into trouble.
With regard to the possible course of the pandemic in autumn, the immunologist Leif Erik Sander from the Charité Berlin referred to the scenarios presented by the Federal Government’s Expert Council in June. He thinks it is likely that the so-called baseline scenario will come true. Although this does not provide for a new, more dangerous virus variant, it does provide for a higher burden of disease and a renewed increase in cases in intensive care units. That is why the planned obligation to wear a mask indoors makes sense.
Lauterbach sees the end of the Corona summer wave
Carsten Watzl, immunologist at the University of Dortmund and Secretary General of the Society for Immunology, made a similar statement. “In the fall, the virus can reach more people again,” he told the Handelsblatt. “But together with the new vaccines, the treatment options and the high level of basic immunity, I’m still relatively optimistic about the coming winter.”
The federal government is planning a new vaccination campaign with adapted vaccines for September. These could already be delivered on September 2nd or 28th, Lauterbach said on Friday. “The federal government has procured both vaccines in sufficient quantities. We will therefore also be supplied relatively early.” The vaccination campaign could then take place promptly.
More: Nothing more was to be expected from the new Infection Protection Act – one comment