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The situation in Germany is increasingly worrying. Intensive care units are on the brink, with a record number of victims and new infections registered in the last 24 hours. Angela Merkel insists on a total shutdown before Christmas.
Over the past 24 hours, there have been 29,875 new coronavirus infections in Germany, as many as ever. And the number of deaths related to COVID-19 is a record: 598. The day before, the victims of COVID-19 were 590.
More than 20,000 victims in Germany
Thus, since the start of the pandemic in Germany, the total number of deaths related to the new coronavirus has reached 20,970 and the positive tests add up to a total of more than 1.27 million. It is estimated that more than 942,000 people have already recovered. At the moment, the reproduction number is 1.03. This means that 100 infected people currently infect another 103 people. For several weeks, this value has been around 1. If it stays below 1 for a longer period of time, the spread of the virus will slow down.
In this context, there is a debate in Germany about a stricter blockade than the current one. On November 2, a partial blockade was introduced in the country: cultural institutions such as theaters and operas, sports centers, including swimming pools and gyms, were closed. Restaurants, cafes and discos are also closed. In addition to entertainment venues such as bowling alleys or ice rinks. Schools, kindergartens and shops remained open. Contacts were limited to meetings between two households with up to 10 people over the age of 14. And for Christmas, with up to 15 people over 14 years old.
Tighter blocking?
However, these measures clearly did not help reduce the number of new infections. That is why voices in favor of a strict lockdown are increasing. However, Chancellor Angela Merkel and the prime ministers of the 16 federal states cannot reach a compromise on the beginning and the strictest type of blockade. Merkel and Chancellor Helge Brown have long called for stricter restrictions, even before Christmas. And the German Robert Koch Institute is pushing for a tighter shutdown. However, this has provoked opposition from some prime ministers.
The chancellor and the prime ministers of the federal states are expected to discuss the situation on Sunday, December 13. In the context of the growing number of new infections, it is almost certain that a stricter lockdown will be adopted for January 10. One of the planned measures: close all stores except those that sell basic necessities. However, it is not yet clear when it will take effect. And while seeking a compromise for a national solution, some federal states have decided to impose tougher measures on their own.
Some provinces are already tightening restrictions
In Saxony, a stricter lockdown will take effect on Monday, December 14 and will be valid until January 10: schools, kindergartens and most shops will be closed. Only at Christmas there will be small exceptions: up to 10 people in a family can get together for the holidays. Then the rule for meetings with up to five members from two households takes effect again. And Berlin is considering tougher measures until January 10. Mayor Michael Mueller predicts the country will reach a three-week national lockdown, which will take effect on December 21. In Thuringia, all stores, except those that sell basic goods, will close from 19 December. Several other provinces will adopt stricter restrictions, but most provide exceptions for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
While the Germans have yet to come to a unanimous decision on the holidays, France has already announced that it will impose an hour at night, which will also apply to the New Year: the French cannot leave their homes between 8 p.m. and 8 p.m. 6 a.m. The country has returned some of the other restrictions, as it has yet to reach its goal of fewer than 5,000 new infections per day. There have been more than 14,000 new infections in the last 24 hours and the total number of victims since the start of the pandemic has been 56,000.
The bosses are sounding the alarm
On Thursday evening, December 10, on ARD public law television, the chairman of the board of directors of the Charité Clinic in Berlin, Heyo Kromer, expressed serious concern about the state of intensive care units in the country. . According to him, the wards are overloaded, the doctors are working at the limit of their strength. There are fewer and fewer staffed beds available, he stressed.
“We will soon be on the brink of possibility,” he said. Out of a total of 442 beds in the “Sharite” intensive care unit, 129 are occupied by COVID-19 patients. And they need a wide range of care. About 70% of them are on artificial respiration.
“The number of empty beds is misleading. A bed in an intensive care unit can only be considered vacant when there is enough staff for it. And there are not many beds with enough staff in intensive care units in Germany,” Kromer said. He added that many doctors and nurses from other wards had been relocated to care for COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, about 65% of surgeries were postponed due to the high number of coronavirus patients.
“Germany needs a long-term strategy”
And the president of the German Chamber of Physicians, Klaus Reinhard, notes that the situation in German clinics is worrying. He advocates a swift restriction of contacts, which can be achieved with a stricter lockdown between Christmas and January 10. However, Reinhardt added that it was an illusion if “we think that in two weeks of restrictions we will be able to cope with the pandemic.” Once the measures are relaxed, the number of new infected will increase again. “So concepts should finally be developed that apply across the country,” he said, citing Tübingen’s decision to distribute FFFP_2 masks to the elderly free of charge, to introduce a special adult-only shopping schedule and we offer taxis to prices of bus tickets.
“Even if we start vaccinating in January, we need a long-term strategy that is clear and understandable to the population,” Klaus Reinhar said. With the current “vagrancy and patches of rules, we are losing the approval of the population of the necessary restrictions”.
Germany
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