“The measures did not work, we must act immediately” – Corriere.it

Employers are asked to put your employees at work smart or to stop their activities, an indication that did not occur in the first wave of the pandemic. The consumption of alcohol in public places will be prohibited, which will force the closure of the kiosks that thousands of bars and restaurants have kept open these days to sell the traditional Christmas wine. In addition, a very significant measure because it affects a tradition much loved by the Germans, the sale of fireworks for the New Year is prohibited. The reason, Soeder explained, is that hospitals could not care for the thousands of injured, many of them seriously., which are registered every year on New Year’s Eve. Private meetings will continue to be limited to 5 people belonging to no more than 2 families, excluding children.

From December 24 to 26 there will be more, but only among close relatives of a single family. Although relaxation is not expected for the end of the year holidays. The government has urged to refrain from traveling, both in Germany and abroad. In any case, the hotels remain open only to those traveling for demonstrable business reasons. THEOn January 4, a new videoconference between Merkel and the regional prime ministers will take stock of the results and evaluate a possible extension of the hard blockade. In terms of economic buffers, Finance Chief Olaf Scholz announced that the government will support companies with a new bazooka worth 11.2 billion euros.

The activities that will be forced to close, explained the minister, may request and obtain reimbursement up to a maximum of 90% of fixed expenses, with a limit of 500 thousand euros per month. It is a catastrophe – said Scholz -, the most serious crisis in the last 50 years. But we are determined to limit the damage to the German people as much as possible. I realize that these measures will have serious consequences on people’s lives – Merkel said – but we have no choice. The Chancellor asked her compatriots, in the coming days, to minimize all contacts that are not absolutely urgent or necessary.

Already earlier in the week, Merkel, in a dramatic intervention in the Bundestag, had admitted that the shutdown light launched on November 2 amidst resistance and complaints from regional prime ministers (who also have exclusive competence over the attention medical emergency) failed. The curve does not flatten The incidence remains at a very high level: 150 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days, with astronomical peaks of more than 400 weekly infections per 100,000 inhabitants in 23 areas of the country. There are currently almost 4,400 people in intensive care, which is more patients than in April. Although the number of positive tests has exceeded the levels of March: 1.5 out of 10. It is not easy to understand how this situation has occurred.

In October Merkel denounced the Gesundheitsaemter crisis, the health offices scattered throughout the territory that are the first line of defense and that during the first wave had done an excellent job of monitoring and follow-up: they are overwhelmed, they run the risk of not being able to follow the chain of infections further, the chancellor had warned. Another reason is the lack of personnel, denounced by a documentary by the Zdf, the second public network, which renders the wide availability of intensive care units useless. It seems incredible, but despite having a high number of doctors and nurses compared to the population (respectively 4 and 13 per thousand inhabitants), Germany is much worse in relation to beds: in fact there is 1 nurse for every 10 patients, against 5 in Switzerland and 4 in the Netherlands, 3 in Norway. Meanwhile, in hospitals in Berlin and Brandenburg, the number of infected doctors and nurses continues to increase and this leads to capacity saturation. The total number of tests carried out also fell, reaching 1.5 million a week after the first wave.

As he explains Time, citing the RKI, so as not to overwhelm the system, the strategy modified and now mainly people with strong symptoms are tested. This likely meant that many asymptomatic people or people with mild symptoms got out of control and infected others as well. Regarding the increase in the number of deaths, a possible and in any case partial explanation is the average age of the newly infected. While in the first wave the German one had been among the lowest in Europe, now the pandemic affects mainly the elderly: according to Lothar Wieler, director of the Robert Koch Institut, currently twice as many infections are registered in nursing homes in Germany that in the spring. Finally, the schools, which with a very brave decision have so far remained open. Although students are not among the highest incidence groups, Wieler admits that they are part of the new wave.