Scientists criticize the closure

reFDP President Christian Lindner and several scientists criticize the federal government’s coronation policy and demand a change of course. Lindner told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) that he was assuming there would now be a lockdown which “is nothing more than an emergency brake”. What is missing is “a crisis strategy that lasts more than a few days. The social and economic damage caused by prolonged stagnation is so great that it cannot be sustained in the long term. “

Unlike the summer, the federal government now has to use the time “to work on a long-term strategy. Above all, it should not stop shortly after the emergency brake has been released. Stopping and leaving would be devastating. “

Lindner demanded that the protection of risk groups now become a “national effort.” Individual contact restrictions and constant action in regions with a growing number of cases should “replace the blockade as soon as possible.” The FDP stands ready to help develop such a strategy.

Virologist and epidemiologist Klaus Stöhr, former head of the World Health Organization’s global influenza program, also criticized the government’s direction. “What I think is worthy of criticism is that there is no long-term strategy,” he told the FAS. The control criteria have not been clearly established. How many cases are acceptable? What is the goal, for example, with intensive care beds, how much should they be occupied? “

“Where is the middle?”

Stöhr went on to say: “Where is the middle way that remains in the triangle between economy, health and freedom, and in which none of these areas is forgotten? Germany is at the forefront when it comes to limiting health effects. But health economists are now asking about proportionality. ” The supplementary budget for Corona alone amounts to around 500 billion euros.

Stöhr said that you shouldn’t try to reduce the virus’s reproduction rate by taking strict measures. Instead, restrictions should be used to ensure that the number of new infections remains constant. “This is a good way to overcome the pandemic without neglecting the economy too much and without risking an exponential growth in the number of infections.”

Virologist Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit from the University of Hamburg called for a clear goal. “The most important thing is that we need a sustainable strategy. A series of lockdowns is not a long-term strategy, ”he said. Schmidt-Chanasit suggests that health authority employees should focus more on protecting the elderly in the future, they could “develop and implement test concepts.” The city of Tübingen is exemplary in this regard: it has provided “excellent equipment with protective clothing in nursing homes”.

The proposal to protect the sick and elderly is criticized over and over again because there are 30 million of them in Germany alone, Schmidt-Chanasit said. This argument is not open to you “at all”. Of course, there are “big differences” between those who are at risk. “Some are at much higher risk than others, especially people over seventy with many previous illnesses.” Schmidt-Chanasit said he was not against the blockade on principle. However, this should remain the last resort.