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Vacation relaxation is in question again
| Reading time: 3 minutes
The official sign for the state capital Dresden, which indicates the use of face and nose masks, hangs from a lantern on the Prager Straße shopping street.
Source: dpa / Robert Michael
The partial blockage has already lasted for about five weeks, but the number of infections just isn’t decreasing. Is relaxation on vacation justified? The doubts grow. But the Chancellor sees “light at the end of the tunnel.”
AIn view of the persistently high Corona numbers, the temporary relaxation of contact restrictions during Christmas and New Years is again in doubt. There are more and more warnings from the ranks of the Union and the SPD to avoid unnecessary risks. Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) said on Saturday that thanks to advances in vaccines there was “light at the end of the tunnel.” However, the fight against the pandemic is likely to drag on for many months. Health Minister Jens Spahn (also CDU) expects massive vaccinations in Germany for the summer.
Contrary to many hopes, the number of new infections is still at a high level around five weeks after the partial lockdown went into effect. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), health authorities reported 23,318 new infections in a single day on Saturday. A week ago, the value was 21,695. With 483 new deaths, the highest level since the outbreak of the pandemic was lost. Therefore, there is a growing concern that if there is a relaxation during the holidays, the numbers will skyrocket later.
The vice chairman of the SPD parliamentary group, Bärbel Bas, told the German press agency: “If the figures remain at this high level until December 20, the measures should not be relaxed during the holidays. The current restrictions should remain until January ”. Saar Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) told the Augsburger Allgemeine that there should be no relaxation on New Year’s Eve with comparable figures. The Bavarian cabinet wants to discuss the tightening this Sunday.
The contact restrictions have been in effect again since the beginning of November; on December 1, they were tightened in almost all federal states. Private meetings with friends, family and acquaintances are now limited to five participants from a maximum of two households. Children up to 14 years old are excluded. However, with a view to the holiday season, the federal and state governments have agreed to allow ten more children to attend family reunions from December 23 to January 1. However, not all federal states participate in this relaxation.
Merkel sees “light at the end of the tunnel”
The hope of many is now based on vaccines soon. Merkel said in her weekly video podcast: “After more than nine months of the pandemic, we are now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.” There is hope that one or more vaccines will be available very soon. “Then we can defeat the virus step by step.” But Merkel also added that this would not be a matter of a few months.
Spahn told the t-online news portal that there were a total of five vaccines that would be approved with a “certain probability” by mid-year. In addition to developments from Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna, it also included products from Curevac, Astra Zeneca, and Johnson & Johnson. Millions of German citizens could already be immune to vaccines in the spring. When asked if Germany had ended the worst in the fall, the minister replied: “If as many as possible take advantage of the vaccination offer: yes.”
The German Foundation for Patient Protection warned against excessive expectations. Eugen Brysch, a member of the board, told the German press agency. “The message” Anyone who has been vaccinated cannot get Covid-19 and is immune “is not correct.” The coalition had stipulated by law that the federal government can set the rules for vaccination by ordinance. Risk groups are mentioned here, that is, the elderly and infirm, employees of the health service and in central areas of general interest.
According to an elaboration by the Scientific Services of the Bundestag, vaccination against the coronavirus by regulation is not the correct way. The document available to the dpa states: “The prevailing vision must be approved, according to which the prioritization of certain population groups for access to vaccines requires a formal law that regulates at least the essential criteria for the distribution of a vaccine limited”.
