After the hard Corona winter, many hopes are pinned on summer. Will the number of cases then fall as sharply as in the last two years? The health minister has doubts.
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach has warned of rising corona infection numbers in summer. He considers it necessary to maintain protection options beyond March 20th. “We have to reckon with a summer wave,” said the SPD politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group (Saturday). Both the Delta and the Omicron variant of the virus are so infectious that even when the weather is good, the number of infections could increase again due to many contacts and the decreasing vaccination protection, if there were no longer any restrictions. The Infection Protection Act must be geared to this.
The federal states should have the opportunity to react at an early stage. These included the obligation to wear masks and contact restrictions. “It should be possible to set upper limits for private meetings and public events as well as access rules for restaurants, for example, i.e. 2G or 2G-plus rules,” said Lauterbach. “To do this, there must continue to be the possibility of enforcing test rules in public spaces and in companies.” All these instruments should only be used when they are actually necessary.
From March 20th, most of the Corona requirements will no longer apply. The nationwide legal basis for such measures expires on March 19. So-called basic protective measures such as the obligation to wear a mask indoors should remain in place. The Bundestag still has to discuss the exact structure. Only on Friday were more Corona measures no longer apply, there are relaxations for the gastronomy, hotel industry, clubs and discotheques. The nationwide incidence is falling, the Federal Ministry of Health sees the peak of the corona wave in most federal states passed.
Medical association calls on citizens to wear masks
The President of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt, called on citizens to continue wearing FFP2 masks in retail, on buses and trains. Reinhardt told the “Rheinische Post” (Saturday): “In dealing with the pandemic in the future, it is crucial that people learn to deal with the risk of infection sensibly by acting independently in everyday life.” This included Reinhardt being fully vaccinated or voluntary quick tests before private parties.
The general manager of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities, Gerd Landsberg, called for the maintenance of free citizen tests in the “Rheinische Post”. The vaccination centers should also “at least be kept in stand-by mode”.