Despite the further decline in the number of infections, the virologist Klaus Stöhr sees Sars-CoV-2 as a problem for the decades and criticizes the strategy of the federal government.
Corona * still
has a firm grip on Germany and the world.
There is now a threat of
entry bans
from "mutation areas" to Germany, which the federal government is currently discussing, as Interior Minister Seehofer said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the virologist Klaus Stöhr sees significant shortcomings in the federal government's corona strategy (update from January 29, 9:55 a.m.).
Update from January 29, 1:29 p.m
.: The planned
entry
ban
(see our first report below)
could already
apply
from this
Saturday (January 30)
.
This emerges from a new draft ordinance that the cabinet will deal with on Friday and which the
dpa
has received.
A time limit until February
17th is
planned.
Exceptions
should apply to:
Persons with residence and right of residence in Germany
Movement of goods
Transportation of medical personnel
Ambulance flights
Transport of transplant organs
Carriage for urgent humanitarian reasons
Transit passengers
Aircraft and ship crews
Areas of distribution of particularly dangerous
coronavirus mutations
are affected
.
As things currently stand, these would be
Great Britain
,
Ireland
,
Portugal
,
South Africa
and
Brazil
.
Corona remains "for decades": Virologist calls for a step-by-step plan and attacks lockdown policy
Update from January 29th, 9.55 a.m.:
While the
7-day incidence
in Germany has long been below the threshold of 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, an expert is still far from seeing any light at the end of the tunnel and is calling for a radical change in course Government.
Klaus Stohr
is epidemiologist and
virologist
and held nearly 15 years leading positions at the World Health Organization
WHO
held.
Also because of this experience, the 62-year-old
assesses Sars-CoV-2
as a problem that the world population will have to grapple with for a long time.
The
virus will
remain "for decades or even centuries," the
virologist
suspected
in the podcast "Die Wochenester" of the
Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger
.
Corona lockdown: Virologist Stöhr criticizes the federal government's strategy - no alternative to AHA rule until the end of the year
Stöhr is
therefore particularly
critical of
the
federal government's
strategy
in the
corona crisis
, which, in his opinion, would primarily lead to confusion.
"With a good step-by-step plan that sets a positive agenda and flexibly adapts to external conditions, you can move through this seasonal illness to the end much better than
stumbling
from
lockdown
to lockdown," says the expert.
Such a step-by-step plan would also be
of great importance
for the
infection process
in summer, for which Stöhr does not yet suspect any decisive relaxation.
The
virologist believes
that there is no alternative to complying with the AHA rule until the end of the year
.
Because even in summer up to 60 percent of the population could still be “fully susceptible” to an infection.
Corona lockdown: Continuing school closings - "I'm really extremely sorry"
Update from January 28, 6:55 p.m.:
The Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg,
Winfried Kretschmann
, commented on the non-opening of schools and daycare centers that was decided on Thursday: "The discussions about further easing have become irrelevant for the time being," said the Green politician.
Daycare centers
and
primary schools
were initially closed until after the carnival holidays, i.e. until February 21.
+
Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), Federal Minister for Health Jens Spahn (CDU)
© Kay Nietfeld / dpa
The reason for this is that the
corona mutant was
detected
in 18 children and educators from the Immergrün day care center in Freiburg
.
Kretschmann asked for understanding for the short-term cancellation.
"I am really extremely sorry that we
cannot now implement
our plan
to open
the
daycare centers
and
primary schools
." After the
outbreak of
the Corona mutation in the daycare center, the risk is simply too great.
Corona lockdown: Kretschmann does not want to open schools and daycare centers
Update from January 28th, 4.30 p.m.:
After at least 18 children and educators in a Freiburg daycare center have been
infected
with one of the new
mutations of
the
corona
virus
since January 17th,
political consequences are now being drawn.
The Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg,
Winfried Kretschmann (Greens)
, has decided to continue the
corona restrictions
in daycare centers and schools until February 14th.
This is reported by the dpa news agency, which
learned
of this decision in
Stuttgart
from government circles.
Baden-Württemberg is
therefore not opening
daycare centers
and
primary schools
earlier
.
First report from January 28th, 2 p.m.:
Berlin - It's kind of confusing: The
corona numbers are
moving down, easing strategies are being considered.
At the same time, a mutated corona virus is circulating, although it is unclear where it is already and how quickly it can affect other parts of Germany.
The fact is: It is known from other countries around the world that there are increasing numbers of new, more contagious virus variants in circulation.
So that they are not brought into
Germany
even faster
, the federal government is considering what
travel restrictions
could look like.
Federal Minister of the Interior *
Horst Seehofer
is primarily responsible for this
.
He made a statement on Thursday at
Bild Live
.
"It's not about banning travel, it's about taking measures to prevent a highly infectious virus," he said.
“To do this, we do indeed have to restrict certain movements, flight movements, travel movements.
We're just thinking about that. "
Corona: Entry bans possible to protect against virus variants
Seehofer justified the considerations with the efforts that have been made in Germany for months.
Therefore, one cannot “stand by and watch” as the virus is brought further to Germany.
So far, the minister can only present his own ideas about the
measures
.
All other ministers, such as Minister for Economic Affairs Altmaier or Foreign Minister Maas, are of course still allowed to have a say.
Seehofer's basic rule: No entry from
"mutation areas"
.
It currently included Great Britain, Portugal, South Africa and Brazil.
“But more can be added every day,” added the minister.
This means that entry bans from neighboring German countries cannot be ruled out, depending on further developments.
In addition, exceptions are currently being discussed.
The CSU politician is in favor of a very narrow framework, for example for goods traffic and the transport of vital products.
Seehofer announced an inspection at
airports
, on the
road
and on the
train
.
It is not yet certain when such measures will apply.
Corona lockdown: Germany is not waiting for EU-wide regulations
Seehofer said on Thursday morning, according to the
dpa
, that Germany was
not waiting for an EU-wide approach
with
entry restrictions
.
At the moment, it is not expected that a European solution will be found in the foreseeable future that corresponds to German ideas.
"That is why we are now preparing it nationally."
The project - and this is important to note - is about measures for entry into Germany.
The
departure
is another point.
"Our constitutional lawyers are of the opinion that significantly higher requirements apply," explained Seehofer.
“Germany will not be a prison,” Seehofer assures when asked.
But anyone who drives into a "mutation area" and then comes back will fall under the new rules that will soon be introduced.
The interior minister considers a negative corona test before boarding the plane to be the minimum.
In the conversation, Seehofer also re-classified the sentence by
Chancellor Angela Merkel
*
, which she is said to have said: "We got this thing slipped." from the autumn, when Merkel wanted tougher measures, which the countries ultimately did not support.
Then the situation slipped away.
Corona: Health Minister Spahn wants vaccination summit - but not all problems will be solved after that
The
vaccination
Against the
corona virus remains
the central hope in the fight against the pandemic.
But at the moment there is always a lot of criticism, delivery bottlenecks determine the discussion.
According to Seehofer, Europe could have ordered “more aggressively and on a larger scale”.
But the development of vaccines in such a short time alone is a success story.
Health Minister *
Jens Spahn
also emphasized this
on Thursday in a press statement in the Bundestag.
Most recently, his announcement that a
vaccination summit
with various representatives would take place was
surprising
.
He would also like the EU Commission to be at the table there.
But Spahn does not want to set expectations too high: such a summit will not manage to ensure that a complex process such as vaccine production works smoothly after two weeks.
"That's the truth and I think we should honestly say that."
In addition, Spahn announced
a further initiative
together with
Labor Minister *
Hubertus Heil
.
Five million recipients of basic benefits will soon receive ten
FFP2 masks
free of charge
.
Those affected will receive a letter from the health insurance company with which they can collect the masks from the pharmacy within two weeks if they also present their identity card.
In addition, thousands of aid packages, including protective masks, are sent to nursing homes, institutions for the disabled and the homeless.
“It is important that we keep an eye on society as a whole in this situation,” adds Heil.
(cibo) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.
List of rubric lists: © Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa