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SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach still does not consider a nightly curfew to contain the corona pandemic to be absolutely necessary. However, if the number of cases continues to rise rapidly, it is unlikely to be prevented, the trained epidemiologist warned Sunday night on “Bild Live.” The reason for this is that the spread of the B.1.1.7 corona mutation is “four to eight times more contagious” than the previous virus when observed for one month.
“Until now, no country has managed to control the pandemic much faster with this mutation without there having been exit restrictions in the confinement,” Lauterbach said. However, it should be clear: “Exit restrictions are the last resort, try to avoid them.” The only possibility to do this is offered by a “very strict test concept” with two tests per week in all schools and companies. . The capacities to do so are “feverishly piling up.”
However, in principle, the head of the FDP, Christian Lindner, rejects curfews to contain the pandemic. He said on “Bild live”: “I always consider exit restrictions to be disproportionate, too severe a restriction of freedom.” Furthermore, they are not necessarily useful even for reasons of protection against infection: “When members of a household move outside in the open air, I see no reason to prohibit them from doing so.”
Due to the sharp increase in the number of corona infections, a draft resolution by the Foreign Ministry for the federal-state round this Monday is based on an extension of the blockade until April 18. Furthermore, the emergency brake regulation adopted in early March must be “implemented consistently.”
The draft also contains a passage that, due to exponential growth, foresees further tightening (“additional measures”) for districts with more than 100 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in one week.
The entire passage is in square brackets, which means it needs to be negotiated because it is particularly contentious. Among other things, there is talk of a night exit restriction until 5:00 am, “unless there are serious reasons to the contrary.” The start time is left open here.
The original is dated Sunday at 5.30 p.m. On Monday afternoon, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) will advise the prime ministers of the federal states on the next steps in crown policy.
The leader of the trade union faction Ralph Brinkhaus spoke in the run-up to the summit in favor of an absolutely strict blockade. “We are now in what is probably the most critical phase of the pandemic. Therefore, the emergency brake agreed at the beginning of March must be applied consistently and without exceptions ”, the CDU politician demanded this Monday morning. “It is forbidden to leave the tourist traffic of Holy Week. On the contrary: blocking measures, however problematic, must be extended again. Otherwise, it will be a very difficult summer for everyone. “
In view of the Chancellery’s presentation, Brinkhaus now sees the countries on the train. The minister-presidents are “responsible for avoiding a further increase in the number and, therefore, of the sick and dead.”
Head of the parliamentary group SPD: First exhaust other options
The parliamentary manager of the SPD parliamentary group, Carsten Schneider, was critical of the Chancellery’s proposal for curfews: “Before the new restrictions on private homes proposed by the Chancellor can be discussed, all of them must be exhausted. the other options, “he told dpa news. agency.
This includes that the test options announced by the Federal Ministry of Health six weeks ago are finally available in reality. “For all professions that cannot work from home, employers must provide at least two tests per week. If companies do not implement this, it must be prescribed by regulation. “
Intensive Care Professionals for Tighter Lockdown
German intensive care doctors insisted on a stricter lockdown by tightening the contact ban ahead of Monday’s consultations. “I hope that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor will agree this Monday on uniforms at the national level and a very simple adjustment,” said Christian Karagiannidis, president of the German Society for Internal Intensive Care Medicine and Emergency Medicine (DGIIN), according to a preliminary report in the newspaper “Rheinische Post” (Monday edition).
It is essential that all countries implement the same measures and that they are easy to understand. He called for a return to a stricter closure, such as in early March, and the closure of schools and daycare centers until sufficient testing facilities are available. The possibilities of contact must be “massively” restricted. Otherwise, the current rate of infections “will cause the intensive care units to be overloaded from April to May.”
Meanwhile, after the first cautious easing, the number of corona patients in Germany’s intensive care units increased again. With more than 3000 beds occupied, the load is again as high as in the peak hours of the first wave in the spring of 2020. This can be found in the registry of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Divi ).
“Now we are starting the third wave in intensive care units and at a very high level. We had already warned about this at the end of February and we are very concerned about it, ”said Divi president Gernot Marx. According to Divi data, 3,056 Covid 19 patients were treated in German intensive care units on Sunday. “We expect a rapid increase in the number of patients in the coming weeks, as the wave of intensive care patients always follows the wave of infections for two to three weeks,” he added.
Almost two-thirds of Germans are dissatisfied with crisis management
A year after the first measures against the pandemic, almost two-thirds of Germans are unhappy with the crisis management of the federal government. In a poll conducted by the YouGov opinion research institute on behalf of the dpa, 34 percent are “very dissatisfied” and another 31 percent are “somewhat dissatisfied” with the government’s actions in the crisis. In contrast, only 4 percent are “very satisfied” and 26 percent are “somewhat satisfied.” 5 percent do not provide any information.
Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) received even worse ratings than Chancellor Angela Merkel’s (CDU) cabinet. Only 24 percent of those surveyed are satisfied with their work, while 69 are dissatisfied.
The acceptance of restrictions such as the closing of shops, restaurants and schools was still very high during the first Corona wave. In a YouGov poll in April 2020, 67 percent said they were more or very satisfied with the government’s crisis management.
Discontent now prevails among voters of all parties represented in the Bundestag. It is particularly strong among supporters of the AfD (86 percent), the left (76 percent), and the FDP (73 percent). Behind them are the voters of the SPD (63 percent), the Greens (62 percent) and the CDU / CSU (51 percent).
