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Thursday, December 31, 2020
Before the conference with Merkel
The country’s leaders call for a longer blockade
In the next week, the Prime Ministers of the federal states and the Federal Chancellor want to discuss the course of the pandemic after January 10. The demands for more contact restrictions are unanimous. However, some measures are still controversial.
Ahead of the Prime Minister’s Conference (MPK) with Chancellor Angela Merkel scheduled for January 5, there are signs of an extension of the currently applicable lockdown. MPK president, Berlin’s ruling mayor, Michael Müller, told ntv: “If the number of infections remains that high, I suppose we will at least extend these measures that we have now.” Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn, who is not part of the decisive round, also said he does not consider it realistic to lift all crown restrictions after January 10. The demand for continued restrictions on public life is supported by the German Hospital Society (DKG), among others, whose boss warned against overloading clinics.
The Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig, also considers that the relaxation of the strict precautions of protection against the crown is currently possible and responsible only after a significant reduction in the number of infections. “We can only carry out further relaxation when we have incidence values well below 50 again for a longer period of time,” Schwesig said. Saarland Prime Minister Tobias Hans also assumes that the blockade will be extended. “The blockade is and was necessary, and should be extended in early January,” said the CDU politician of the “Rheinische Post”.
An extension of the lockdown has reportedly already been discussed in an exchange between Chancellor Helge Braun and the heads of the state chancellery of the 16 federal states in preparation for the MPK. However, there were apparently very different ideas about which of the restrictions should continue and which should not.
“Clear demand from hospitals”
Schwesig made it clear that protecting the health and situation of children was fundamental to her. “Schools and kindergartens have priority,” emphasized the Social Democrat. For tourism and gastronomy, the Schwerin head of government sees little opportunity for a rapid lifting of restrictions applicable to these areas. “With the start of vaccinations, the way out of the pandemic opens step by step. But there is still a long way to go, and avoiding contact with it is still essential to be able to contain infections.”
The German Hospital Society warned against overloading the clinics if the closure was completed. “We continue to see an increasing occupancy in hospitals with patients suffering from Covid-19. Now there is about double that in the first wave,” said DKG President Gerald Gaß of Germany’s publishing network. In addition, there would be between 20,000 and 25,000 patients with Covid-19 in the infection rooms. “The figures will be reduced from mid-January at the earliest, if the lockdown comes into force,” the DKG chief warned. “Vaccines cannot be noticed before mid-February. Therefore, over the next several weeks, hospitals will also have to repeatedly withdraw from emergency care or transfer patients.”
Clinics have to face staff shortages time and time again: “Employees did not rest during the holidays. Many must be quarantined or infected,” Gaß said. The DKG president emphasized: “The clear political demand of the hospitals is: Contact restrictions must remain beyond January 10. Otherwise, hospitals will be overwhelmed.”
