Hendrik Wüst is Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia.
(Photo: imago images/Chris Emil Janssen)
Dusseldorf 742 days have passed since the first known corona case in Germany, but unfortunately the pandemic continues to determine our everyday life. Omicron spreads faster, but for all we know, this mutation also leads to less severe diseases. The number of infected people is still increasing rapidly.
The peak of the fifth wave of infections has not yet been reached. Experts predict it for between the end of February and the beginning of March. At the moment we have to remain vigilant and keep a close eye on developments in the hospitals.
The focus is on protecting people’s life and health and the common goal of preventing the health system from being overloaded. As a politician, we also have a responsibility to protect and defend people’s freedoms. This means always choosing the mildest of the effective means in the fight against the pandemic.
The current development with milder courses of the disease gives us the opportunity to soon enter a new phase of the pandemic. It is all the more crucial that we stick to basic protection to ensure more normality. That means, for example: Wear a mask and keep your distance where it is necessary. If the Bundestag does not act, the legal basis for these low-threshold basic protection mechanisms will no longer apply on March 19. In fact, the countries would be without protection options – at a time when Germany still has a vaccination rate that is far too low. That will not do.
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The federal government should act quickly. At least the one-time extension option must be used until the end of spring, longer-term minimum protection options for federal states and municipalities would be even better until immunization is also significantly increased in our country. This ensures planning security.
High protection for vulnerable people
Let’s turn on the high beam in Corona! A forward-looking pandemic policy includes following the advice of science and not being unprepared for the next wave that could overtake us in autumn or winter.
The Scholz government should therefore be ready to correct its own misjudgment from the beginning of its work for a more absolute end to all protection options in just a few weeks. Corona will not disappear completely at the end of winter just because it is politically desired.
Consistent basic protection with proven measures, together with more first, second and booster vaccinations, offers the necessary guidelines to take steps towards normality. All together is the lesser evil compared to lockdown measures, which nobody wants.
For vulnerable people, we must maintain a high level of protection until further notice. Infections in this group of people often lead to severe courses and thus to a high burden on the healthcare system. In addition to maintaining basic protection, it is crucial that we prepare the withdrawal of restrictions in a uniform and consistent manner.
The MPK should review the contact restrictions
At the next meeting of the federal and state governments in mid-February, perspectives should be jointly developed for the moment when it is clear that there is no longer a risk of the healthcare system being overloaded. Keeping an eye on this moment is the reliable basis for ensuring that stricter measures will not be necessary again in a few weeks. A forward-looking pandemic policy also includes avoiding back and forth.
In the first step, the restrictions that cause great burdens in relation to their benefit should be withdrawn. I am thinking here, for example, of the 2G rule in large parts of retail. I know about the many worries and needs of the retail trade and at the same time the great efforts made in recent months to implement and monitor the applicable rules.
Therefore, a change in retail protection should be included as a first step. In the future, wearing an FFP2 mask should ensure protection in retail. Here, too, basic protection helps on the way to more normality.
We should also check the extent of contact restrictions for private meetings. Because the limited togetherness, the lack of contacts hurt. We’ll never get used to it, and that’s a good thing, because they stand for us as a vibrant society and are also an expression of solidarity.
Last week, the federal states agreed on a common regulation with a view to major events and their maximum audience numbers. Our concern as the MPK presidency is to take the next steps in a coordinated manner. Restrictions on people’s freedom should also be withdrawn consistently and as uniformly as possible in order to increase transparency and acceptance.
The author: Hendrik Wüst is Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia.
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