Intervention this Tuesday by Angela Merkel at the World Economic Forum in Davos (Switzerland), held by videoconference.SALVATORE DI NOLFI / EFE
The German government is studying reducing international flights “almost to zero” to try to protect itself from the entry of the new and more contagious variants of the coronavirus.
Germany wants to limit non-essential travel to its territory to the minimum possible without having to close the borders as happened during the first wave of the pandemic.
And for this he is looking at Israel, which since Tuesday has closed Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv while leading the rate of vaccination in the world.
The expression "almost to zero" was used by Angela Merkel's Interior Minister Horst Seehofer in statements to the daily
Bild
.
"The danger posed by the different mutations of the virus demands that we study and discuss drastic measures," he said.
The measures, yet to be specified, include "stricter controls at the borders, especially in areas considered high risk," said Seehofer.
Germany has been sending messages to the rest of Europe for days: it wants its neighbors to adopt strict measures to reduce the incidence of the virus, as they are doing, and has threatened restrictions on the free movement of people if this does not happen.
The Interior Minister recalled that the German population is accepting very tough measures - the hotel industry, leisure and culture have been closed since November;
in December all non-essential commerce closed and schools have not reopened after the Christmas holidays - and he would not understand that the government did not protect its citizens "in the best way from a possible explosion of cases."
The epidemiological situation in Germany, which this Tuesday reported 6,408 new cases and 903 more deaths, is significantly better than that of some of its neighbors such as the Czech Republic, with which it shares cross-border workers.
According to the latest data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), referring to the second week of the year, the 14-day incidence in Germany was 319 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, while the The Czech Republic had 1,363.
As the days go by, the number of daily infections in Germany has been decreasing, according to the statistics of the Robert Koch Institute and now the incidence is around 220 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (the institute offers the data of the incidence at 7 days, which is 108).
Its curve is downward since January 13.
Despite the improvement in data, the government agreed last week with the federal states to extend the current restrictions until February 14 as a precaution.
Germany is not affected by the proposal made by the European Commission on Monday to restrict movement in and out of areas with a high incidence (more than 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 14 days).
None of its federal states exceeds that figure.
However, Angela Merkel does not want Germans to travel outside her borders or for tourists to arrive from outside.
"As far as possible there should be no tourist trips," the foreign minister told her party's deputies at an internal meeting, according to the newspaper
Bild.
"
We have to be more strict, otherwise, in 14 days we will be back where we were," he added.
Until a few days ago, Germany required a 10-day quarantine for those arriving from abroad.
Now a negative PCR carried out in the 48 hours prior to arrival in the country is also required for those who come from areas of high incidence or who have detected a large presence of the new variants, among which are European countries such as Spain and Portugal.
A hospital closed for the British variant
Fear of the British variant, which has overwhelmed the UK health system, has prompted authorities to take drastic measures, such as closing a 600-bed Berlin hospital after detecting an outbreak of this variant.
Last Friday night the center was quarantined after finding, in routine checks, 20 infections with the British mutation of the virus.
Since then the Humboldt clinic in the Reinickendorf district has not accepted more patients and has referred emergencies, deliveries and consultations to other centers.
The workers are also in quarantine and can only move between their homes and the hospital.
The company that owns the center provides transportation to those who do not have a private vehicle and has prohibited the entry of temporary staff and suppliers.
2% of the German population (1.6 million people) have received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the Robert Koch Institute.
The vaccination campaign progresses slowly due to the lack of doses and irregularly, with stages much more advanced than others.
Merkel has recognized this Tuesday the slow response of her government to the pandemic.
“The speed with which we acted left much to be desired,” he said during his speech at the World Economic Forum, and attributed the slowness to bureaucracy and the timid development of digitization in the country.
Information about the coronavirus
- Here you can follow the last hour on the evolution of the pandemic
- Restrictions search engine: What can I do in my municipality?
- This is how the coronavirus curve evolves in the world
- Download the tracking application for Spain
- Guide to action against the disease
