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“Winter will demand a lot from all of us”
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In the new edition of her weekly video podcast, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) prepares Germans for a difficult winter: “The virus will determine our lives for a long time.”
secondAhead of the provisional review of the partial shutdown scheduled for Monday, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) once again prepared citizens for the difficult months due to the Corona crisis. “The winter ahead will demand a lot from all of us,” Merkel said in her video podcast released on Saturday. “The virus will rule our lives for a long time. This also means that we cannot be without worries. ” Although the possibilities of new media could help here, “of course, they are not a substitute for personal encounters.”
This Monday, Merkel wants to take stock of the partial blockade that has been in force since the beginning of November with the prime ministers of the federal states, with which the growing figures of corona infection will be controlled. The German government has already stressed that it currently sees no opportunities for easing.
Before speaking to people in need of care, family members and caregivers in a series of virtual citizen dialogues on Thursday, Merkel highlighted the situation in the care sector. “We all have a lot to thank the elderly and the very elderly, and also those who care for them,” he emphasized.
The pandemic makes life in homes and institutions more lonely and the working conditions of nurses even more stressful. “Protection against the danger of the virus is necessary, but the answer should not simply be foreclosure.” Often with great effort, ways were found to make visits possible.
Rapid antigen tests offer nursing homes and hospitals the opportunity to perform more tests and detect infections more quickly, Merkel said. In this way, patients, visitors, nurses and doctors should be better protected.
If you are at the stage where you can vaccinate against the crown, this group will also take precedence. “As soon as reliable vaccines are available, those responsible for caring for the sick and those in need of care can get vaccinated quickly,” Merkel said. “This also applies to risk groups, including those in need of care.”
Experts await preliminary approval of a first coronavirus vaccine in Europe and the US early next year, after Mainz-based company Biontech and US drugmaker Pfizer reported that the vaccine they had jointly developed was highly effective.