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High infection rates and pandemic fatigue make dealing with the second wave more difficult than it was in the spring. Politicians are struggling to find the right balance between rules and prohibitions, but in the end it all depends on the individual.
An analysis by Georg Mascolo, NDR / WDR
Germany faces the second and greatest test of this pandemic. In spring, this country was also lucky: there were the first warnings from Italy, then spring and summer came to the rescue. To this day, Germany is respected around the world for this, and sometimes admired for how it has overcome the crisis so far. Many other states that managed to do this equally well in the first wave ran into major difficulties later. There are Austria, Israel, the Czech Republic, the list goes on.
Triumph or tragedy
Triumph and tragedy can go hand in hand in a pandemic. It will be decided in the coming weeks and months where Germany will be at the end of this health catastrophe.
Second wave violence surprised politicians and individuals alike. So it’s the whole continent. Hans Kluge, European director of the World Health Organization, calculated that in a week of November in the European region of the WHO there was one death every 17 seconds. A careless summer has its price. Also because the necessary preparations for the fall and winter did not cover the possibilities and the requirements.
Patience is becoming as scarce as intensive care beds
The challenge for Germany is now greater than in the first wave. This is not only due to the increased number of infections. Burnout is rampant, the WHO has a technical term to describe it: pandemic fatigue. Or, as Chancellor Angela Merkel said in one of the rounds with the prime ministers: you want the thing to finally go away. In a pandemic, patience can be as scarce as intensive care beds. In addition, all restrictions are based on what is fun: working and learning is possible, but visiting a restaurant, a museum, holidays and parties is prohibited.
The latest gaps between the Chancellor and some federal states do not make things easier. Merkel always wanted tougher measures, so it was already early summer. She was skeptical of many of the relaxation measures. He has been chancellor for 15 years, but in what he considers the most serious and probably his latest crisis, he cannot do what he wants. The federal states are the main responsible. What you used to criticize internally now makes audible to everyone, now even with suggestions that have not been coordinated.
It was Merkel who always insisted that in this difficult situation a “common history” was necessary for the citizens. That is why she too must strive. “Citizens must get a unified and joint response from the federal and state governments,” he promised on Sunday. “In fact, they are entitled to that.” That’s the way it is.
Wanted: a strategy for winter
Today is a strategy for winter. The prospects for this remain good: Germany has the financial strength to help those in need and those, like hotels and restaurants, who now have to bear special burdens for all in the “light of the lockdown.” At least as long as the European Union does not offer greater resistance to increasing state aid.
Vaccines will also be available sooner than one might expect and expect. Health Minister Jens Spahn announced the prospect of the first vaccines this year. A little puncture will help handle a big problem. The term used by many politicians about the “new normal” in which we now live has always been wrong. He suggested that the state of emergency would continue forever. But you can already see the light at the end of the tunnel. The length of the tunnel is unknown.
By the way, the fact that the first rapid test for SARS-CoV-2 and now probably the first vaccine have been developed in Germany shows how powerful the science is here.
Christmas is not the biggest concern
It will remain difficult because the messages to be announced for the next few weeks are not good: the numbers are not falling fast enough. More restrictions will be necessary, probably until next year. Politicians’ biggest concerns have nothing to do with Christmas or New Year’s Eve. It’s the ski holidays, it’s the fear of a second Ischgl, with which the pandemic really accelerated in Europe this spring.
Not the most elaborate bans will be enough to eliminate the risks that threaten the winter months. The perception of risk and responsibility is very different: some only jog with a mask. Others go to party. However, health prevention cannot be achieved through repression. Persuasion is the most important resource. Responsible behavior cannot be imposed or controlled on an ongoing basis. According to the WHO, lockdowns in Europe could be avoided if more than 90 percent of people wore a mask. According to his calculations, the figure is currently around 60 percent.
Conspiracy myths surrounding the Infection Protection Act
Unfortunately, the R-value of conspiracy myths in this country is consistently above 1. The AfD has decided to act as the political arm of those who want to believe that the state wants to permanently suspend civil rights with the Protection Against Law. Infections That I was just waiting for that opportunity.
This is embarrassing, even if the state could and should act more sensitively – the fact that, with the recently amended Infection Protection Act, the police can no longer use guest data in restaurants for investigations is a good step. , as has happened before. But it comes, despite several reminders, including that of Thuringian Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow, very late.
Unfortunately, anti-corona demonstrations, meanwhile, constantly lead to systematic violations of mask and distance requirements and even violence. 77 of the 2,523 police officers deployed in the most recent large demonstration in Berlin were injured. At these points, the attempt to convince ends: the state must enforce the rules.
Much uncertainty remains
Until the end of this pandemic, there will continue to be uncertainty about whether and what measures were appropriate, excessive or inappropriate. The harm and benefit can only be finally assessed after a long time. Infections and utilization of intensive care units can be well measured. Missed educational opportunities, loss of wealth, or loneliness, however, do not. No one in the Chancellery or the State Chancellery has believed or even considered it possible that they would have to make a decision on such matters.
This pandemic, everything speaks for it at this time, will subside next year. Difficult, perhaps the most difficult questions, but they will remain: How is the vaccine distributed fairly, in the country itself, in Europe, but also in the world? There must also be access for those who cannot produce or afford a savings substance themselves.
New question of justice
The world faces a new and perhaps the greatest question of justice. Also because many states will need additional financial help. Because they can cope with the consequences of this health catastrophe even less than rich Germany. The consequences and effects of this pandemic will remain with us even after a virus called SARS-CoV-2 has lost its greatest horror.
