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The Federal Minister of Health, Jens Spahn (CDU), reports at a press conference on mutant viruses and rapid corona tests. Spahn had already announced Tuesday that he wanted to offer free corona rapid tests to all citizens starting in March. The goal is to prevent the virus from rapidly spreading again in the population if restrictions on public life are relaxed. The tests are now “sufficiently available on the market,” Spahn said on Twitter.
Municipalities are expected to initially “commission test centers or pharmacies with such offers,” the costs will be borne by the federal government. Self-tests, for which no trained personnel are required, should increasingly be used as soon as possible. According to Spahn, they could “contribute to a safe daily life, especially in schools and nurseries.” The approval of the tests by the Federal Institute of Medicines and Health Products (BfArM) is imminent, the Federal Ministry of Health is negotiating with several manufacturers. Among other things, it involves so-called saliva or gargle tests.
The federal government had already expanded the use of rapid corona tests in several steps. They can already be used in nursing homes, clinics and, after infection, in schools, but for the moment with trained personnel. It is not necessary to send the samples to the laboratory for analysis. However, antigen tests are not considered as accurate as other PCR tests. According to the Robert Koch Institute, a positive rapid test result must therefore be confirmed with a PCR test.
RKI reports 7,556 new infections and 560 deaths
German health authorities reported 7,556 new corona infections to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in one day. In addition, there were 560 more deaths in 24 hours, according to figures from the RKI on Wednesday. The data reflects the state of the RKI dashboard as of Wednesday morning; later changes or additions are possible.
A week ago, the RKI had recorded 8,072 new infections and 813 new deaths in one day. On January 14, the peak of 1,244 recently reported deaths was reached. Among new infections recorded in 24 hours, the highest value was reached on December 18 at 33,777, but it contained 3,500 late reports.
According to the RKI, the seven-day incidence nationwide on Wednesday morning was 57.0. Four weeks ago, on January 17, the incidence had been 136. Its previous peak was reached on December 22 at 197.6. Most federal states continue to see falls in seven-day incidents, according to the RKI. The RKI has counted 2,350,399 infections detected with Sars-CoV-2 in Germany since the beginning of the pandemic. The actual total number is likely to be significantly higher as many infections go undetected. The total number of people who died with or with a proven Sars-CoV-2 infection increased to 66,164.
According to RKI’s situation report on Tuesday evening, the seven-day R-value nationwide was 0.84 (previous day 0.86). This means that, in theory, 100 infected people infect 84 more people. The value represents the appearance of the infection 8 to 16 days ago. If it is below 1 for a long time, the infection process subsides.
210 corona boxes in ice cream factory
A major crown outbreak occurred in an ice cream factory in Osnabrück. A city spokesman announced Tuesday that 210 out of a total of about 600 employees had tested positive. The factory has been closed since the weekend and a specialized company disinfected the company. All employees, including management, are in quarantine.
As a result, at least two people have been infected with the British mutant B.1.1.7. The health department has taken over the follow-up of contacts. It is not yet clear how and why the outbreak occurred. That must be determined now, the city spokesman said. According to the operator Froneri, the Osnabrück site is one of the largest ice cream plants in Europe.
Lone Worker Help Requests Now Possible
Economy Minister Peter Altmaier has given hope for improvement to industries in crisis. He was confident that there could soon be an opening prospect for many branches of the economy, he said at a Corona summit with numerous trade representatives. He also explained the new aid that the self-employed can request from Tuesday. This “restart aid” is a one-time grant of a maximum of 7,500 euros – for the period from January 1 to June 30, 2021. The prerequisite is that economic activity has suffered losses due to Corona during this period. weather.
Altmaier had been criticized for the fact that the subsidies that had already been decided were paid slowly. He said that the disbursement of the so-called November and December aid was the responsibility of the federal states. 6.1 billion euros have already been disbursed. “There is a momentum in history and it is urgently needed.”
Stiko-Chef: There is no reason for early vaccinations for teachers
The head of the Permanent Commission on Vaccination (Stiko), Thomas Mertens, sees no reason to prefer to vaccinate teachers. “The Stiko has based its recommendation on the evaluation of international data and also on the German registration data. This means that there is no need to deviate from the recommendation now to prefer teachers,” Mertens told the newspaper. Rheinische Mail.
Teachers of the appropriate age and those with special prior illnesses would be prioritized on this basis. “Stiko’s recommendations are recommendations and policy makers may deviate from this recommendation.”
Laschet: We have to take a closer look at the damage to society
The new head of the CDU, Armin Laschet, has spoken out against condescending citizens in the fight against the corona pandemic. “I still think that the popular attitude is to ban everything, to be strict, to treat citizens like underage children,” the prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia said on Monday evening at the association’s New Year’s digital reception. Baden-Württemberg State Economic Council of the CDU. But that won’t last forever, Laschet said. The virus and its mutations must be taken seriously. But you have to get back to a balanced position. Children who do not go to school or daycare for months can be harmed for life.
Laschet cautioned against an overly one-sided focus on incidence value. “You can’t keep inventing new limits to prevent life from happening again,” he said. “We cannot measure our whole lives only by incidence values.” We must be aware of all other damages to society and the economy, as well as incidence figures.
The state heads of government and Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) had recently agreed to extend the blockade until March 7. Should the so-called seven-day incidence, that is, new infections per 100,000 inhabitants per week, constantly fall below 35, the federal states should gradually relax the restrictions, initially for retailers, museums and galleries, as well as for service companies.
Furthermore, Laschet challenged the federal interior minister, Horst Seehofer (CSU) and warned of the negative effects on the German economy of the border closure. We are currently experiencing that supply chains, especially for the German auto industry, are again being put in jeopardy, Laschet says. “We have to be very careful not to destroy all supply chain processes in the domestic market with ‘replacement measures’.” Closing the border would cause enormous damage and problems could already be seen on the Czech border. “We have to be careful not to make the same mistake again now,” he added, referring to spring 2020.
The federal government does not rule out the Easter license
Unlike the Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer (CDU), the federal government still does not want to make predictions about possible restrictions during the Easter holidays. The current situation is developing positively, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in Berlin on Monday, referring to the decline in the number of infections, fewer Covid-19 intensive care patients and the decline in deaths. Still, the mutants posed a real threat.
So there is a lot to say about waiting the next few weeks and then assessing what easing is possible and at what time. Seibert also emphasized: “The federal government as a whole is working to ensure that Easter 2021 is a different festival than Easter 2020.”
Saxon Prime Minister Kretschmer had already ruled out the Easter holidays in Germany and visits to restaurants during the Easter holidays. “Unfortunately, this year there can be no Easter holidays in Germany,” he says. Photo on Sunday. “Too much mobility through travel and tourism in April is poison. We would destroy everything we have accomplished since mid-December.” He announced that restaurants and hotels in Saxony should be closed during Easter.
Reul was the first NRW minister to test positive for Corona
Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) was the first state government minister of North Rhine-Westphalia to test positive for the corona virus in a rapid test. “The minister is doing well under the circumstances, he conducts his official business from home,” a ministry spokeswoman said.
