It is good that Germany already knows in August what protective measures the country will take in autumn and winter.
(Photo: dpa)
First the good – and there is not too little of it. The federal government has agreed on a new infection protection law for autumn and winter. That is a value in itself in these times.
Because the coalition is notoriously divided. Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) and Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) were able to argue particularly well about the right corona protection measures.
While the Liberals pushed for as few measures as possible, Lauterbach advocated comprehensive protection. These two poles determined the negotiations. And that wasn’t easy.
For months, the coalition struggled with itself and not with the pandemic. It was a mind-numbing argument that felt like a repeat of negotiations for the current Infection Control Act earlier this year. Measured against this, a balanced compromise has emerged.
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This consists of a basic protection that the federal government specifies – namely masks in doorknobs and long-distance traffic. And from further measures that are the responsibility of the federal states – a further mask requirement up to distance requirements and upper limits for persons.
These are some impertinences for the liberals, but also a concession by Lauterbach and other parts of the traffic light. Because measures such as the 2G and 3G rule, contact restrictions and closures are no longer planned, although they have been considered.
New Infection Protection Act: Obstacles to tightened measures
It is also good that Germany already knows in August what protective measures the country will take in autumn and winter. This helps with acceptance and was not the case in the previous pandemic years. Since the common course was only lashed down when the wave was already running.
But some things fall short. The pandemic cannot be fought with measures alone, that is a lesson from the past few years. The new vaccines, which are adapted to the omicron variant, for example, make a new vaccination campaign necessary so that everyone who wants to can be vaccinated for the next waves.
Incidentally, this also applies to the flu vaccination to reduce the burden on the healthcare system from respiratory diseases. However, a strategy for this has not yet been identified.
It is also unlikely that the stricter measures referred to as “snow chains” in the Corona plan will be used at all.
Even in the applicable Infection Protection Act, the federal states made no significant use of the so-called hotspot rule, which permitted stricter measures in the event of an aggravated pandemic situation. Even now they are missing clear criteria. To stay with the metaphor: snow chains are useless if they overwinter in the garage.
More: Mask requirement, distance requirement, upper limit of persons – This is what the Corona plan for the fall looks like