The Minister of Health was “very concerned” about the spread of the Omikron variant.
(Photo: imago images / Jens Schicke)
Berlin The federal government wants to have valid data on the corona situation in Germany and the spread of the highly contagious Omikron variant by the next federal-state meeting on January 7th at the latest. There are talks with the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and other experts, said a spokesman for Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) on Wednesday.
40,043 new infections were reported to the RKI within 24 hours – 5616 fewer than a week earlier. The seven-day incidence, i.e. the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a week, fell further to 205.5, after 215.6 the previous day. The incidence of hospitalizations, which provides information about necessary hospital treatments, is also falling.
But Lauterbach does not trust the data because, for example, the health authorities were less staffed over the holidays and late registrations could still be made. Above all, he wanted to get an idea of the dynamics of the expansion of the Omikron variant, which caused him “great worries”, said the minister of the “Bild” newspaper. It can be assumed that the actual incidence in Germany is currently two to three times as high as reported, said the SPD politician.
The RKI traces 13,129 of the new Covid infections registered since mid-November to Omikron. However, these data are not yet valid either, and late registrations can sometimes be made with a considerable delay. The reason: The institute said there could be days or even weeks between reporting a case and the laboratory findings.
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Lauterbach’s concern also stems from the fact that Omikron is spreading rapidly in other countries; according to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is now the dominant mutant in Great Britain and the USA. However, initial study results indicated that it may be a little less dangerous than the Delta variant.
Economic policy spokesman for the Greens calls for the quarantine rules to be adjusted
Nevertheless, economists warn of the economic consequences of the rapid spread of the virus variant. Even without Omikron, Germany was threatened with value creation losses of 35 billion euros due to the corona crisis in the first quarter of 2022, writes the Institute of the German Economy (IW) in a study.
The new wave and the associated restrictions meant additional losses in gross domestic product of five to 15 billion euros. Stationary retailers are currently losing around six billion euros in sales per month.
“And if things get as bad as early 2021 for the catering trade, the loss in sales could add up to over ten billion euros compared to a normal year,” writes the IW.
The economic policy spokesman for the Green parliamentary group, Dieter Janecek, is also worried about possible staff shortages if Omikron lets the number of new infections and suspected cases skyrocket. “Symptom-free and boosted people should no longer have to be in quarantine for 14 days,” Janecek told Handelsblatt. Otherwise the economy and schools ran into major problems in January or February.
At the next federal-state meeting on January 7th, there should therefore be a recommendation that the quarantine regulations cannot remain in place, emphasized the Green politician. “Other countries like Italy or Austria are showing us how it is.” Prominent country leaders such as Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) had already spoken out in favor of easing the situation.
The vaccination campaign has picked up speed again after a Christmas break. According to the RKI, 608,000 were vaccinated on Tuesday, and around 535,000 on Monday. On the other hand, between December 24th and 26th, the number of vaccinations fell sharply. 71 percent of the population are now fully vaccinated, and a good 37 percent have also received a booster vaccination.
More: Omikron could paralyze the industry – should infected people return to work earlier because of this?