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At the entrance to Waltersdorf, Saxony's Prime Minister Kretschmer has his second home
Photo: Toni Lehder / lausitznews.de / imago images
SPIEGEL:
Ms. Thomas, you are a doctor in the town of Großschönau, where the Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer has his second residence.
In an open letter, many are now standing behind his pandemic policy.
Why did you initiate the letter?
Thomas:
Two weeks ago, a group of around 30 demonstrators, including citizens of the Reich, stood in front of the Prime Minister's house.
They put the danger of the coronavirus into perspective and threw allegations at the Prime Minister's head.
In a democracy everyone should of course be able to express their opinion - but not like that.
It was a Sunday morning and Kretschmer had shoveled snow in front of his private house.
That was a robbery that just didn't belong, a line was crossed here.
I am ashamed that this happened in our village.
SPIEGEL:
And does a letter help against that?
Thomas:
I drive past Kretschmer's house almost every day, we are a relatively small community here, and fortunately these demonstrators are not in the majority.
30 people stood in front of Kretschmer's door.
We must also do something about this vocal minority.
More than 1,500 people have already signed the letter, most of them from the region.
The majority here would like to be treated with respect and stand behind the measures and the Prime Minister.
SPIEGEL:
Do you know the demonstrators?
Thomas:
Two of them are among my patients.
SPIEGEL:
There are doctors who do not want to treat such corona deniers.
Thomas:
I treat everyone who needs a doctor.
It's part of my professional ethic.
It is difficult when patients enter the practice without a face mask.
If you do not respond to multiple tips, you can unfortunately no longer come to the practice.
Our elderly patients, whom we have to protect, are sitting in the waiting room.
SPIEGEL:
How many patients behaved like this?
Thomas:
Few, you have to be clear about that.
SPIEGEL:
Do you sometimes encounter skepticism from other patients too?
Thomas:
If anyone has any questions about vaccination or the dangers of the virus, we will answer them.
We can also convince critically minded people.
You then say: "I trust you." My experience is that unfortunately it was only the concrete examples that led many to understand the seriousness of the situation.
Statistics from the Robert Koch Institute are less convincing than when the older neighbor dies.
After the incident in front of Kretschmer's house, there was a lot of talk about it in the village and at the doctor's.
Most were shocked and disappointed.
What should the rest of the world think what's going on here?
SPIEGEL:
Kretschmer sought a dialogue with the demonstrators in front of his house and even wants to talk to some representatives again.
Do you think that's right?
Thomas:
Yes, I think that as difficult as it is, the dialogue must not be broken off.
Although one would have understood if he hadn't spoken to them, precisely because they stood so boldly in front of his house.
But Kretschmer is concerned with being available to people.
"As difficult as it is, the dialogue must not be broken off"
Magdalena Thomas
SPIEGEL:
How do you determine that?
Thomas:
When there was a discussion in spring about closing the borders, we were faced with a very big problem with maintenance here in the region.
The majority of the nursing staff come from the Czech Republic to work in East Saxony.
If commuters could not have crossed the border, the health system would have collapsed.
I told someone from the CDU in the village.
In the evening the Prime Minister called me on my cell phone and we talked about the situation for half an hour.
My impression is that as a politician he is really trying everything to be able to assess the situation correctly.
I was all the more appalled by the demonstration in front of his house.
SPIEGEL:
How have you been in the past few months?
Thomas:
Unfortunately, it was a horrible awakening.
When we took swabs in March, no one was positive.
Corona was only an issue in the media.
Now everyone here knows someone who had to die because of Corona.
I got infected myself in December, fortunately with a mild course.
SPIEGEL:
What do you expect - will it get better or worse?
Thomas:
My observation is that the situation is finally easing up a bit.
For weeks we spent an hour in the morning in the practice calling patients to inform them of their positive test results.
Now the vaccination is proceeding.
Last week we only had three positive results.
That is a glimmer of hope.
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