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Bettina Stark-Watzinger in the Bundestag (archive)
Photo: via www.imago-images.de / imago images / Political-Moments
In view of the impending bottlenecks in corona tests, Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) has called for schools to be included in the area of so-called critical infrastructure.
"If test capacities are scarce, then students should not be left behind," said Stark-Watzinger in the Bundestag.
"That is why the school must at least get the rank of cultural institution in the critical infrastructure." When asked, the Ministry of Education announced that it was advocating this in the coalition and that discussions were ongoing.
The pandemic with school closings and distance learning had "painfully shown" how important education is, said the FDP politician.
Schools now needed targeted support to catch up with the arrears.
"And right now we have to do everything we can to make classroom teaching possible so that the right to education is realized."
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What counts as critical infrastructure so far
According to the Association of Accredited Laboratories in Medicine, the medical laboratories in Germany are approaching the limits of their capacity utilization due to the high number of infections.
Prioritization for PCR tests is already being discussed.
"Employees in the critical infrastructure have priority," said the head of the German government's Corona crisis team, Major General Carsten Breuer, of the "Süddeutsche Zeitung".
In Germany there are currently nine sectors with 29 sub-areas that are counted as critical infrastructure.
This includes, for example, water and energy supply, the state and administration, the health sector and telecommunications.
Media and culture are also classified in this category by the federal and state governments.
This includes radio and the press, museums and libraries as well as cultural monuments.
Operators of this essential infrastructure - be it companies or authorities - are obliged to ensure that services do not fail, as the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief explains.
Because this could "lead to significant supply bottlenecks, to threats to public safety or to comparable consequences."
Fok / AFP / dpa
