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Manuela Schwesig at a video conference with Prime Ministers and Chancellor in November 2020
Photo: Jens Büttner / dpa
SPIEGEL:
Ms. Schwesig, the Chancellor calls on citizens to persevere, but for how much longer?
The number of new infections continues to fall, could the exit from lockdown not begin on February 15?
Schwesig:
Nobody can say that for sure today.
Because even if the incidence declines, there is a risk that the much more contagious virus mutation will spread.
We will have to look at these dates at the next summit with the Chancellor.
SPIEGEL:
Are you sticking to the goal of achieving an incidence below 50 before easing?
Schwesig:
We will only be able to make larger openings when we are well below 50.
Will we be able to do that across Germany by mid-February?
I'm skeptical about that.
That is why we should proceed regionally.
Where the numbers are low, you can relax earlier.
The second wave hits the East harder, in other countries there is more movement.
“You have to come down significantly with the number of infections to avoid a yo-yo effect.
We know that from our own experience. "
SPIEGEL:
Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has just announced easing, although the target of 50 has not yet been reached.
He referred to the social and psychological consequences of the lockdown.
Wouldn't that be an option for Germany?
Schwesig:
We have already seen Sebastian Kurz initiate relaxation and then have to take it back very quickly.
You have to come down significantly with the infection numbers to avoid a yo-yo effect.
We also know that from our own experience.
SPIEGEL:
But how long can Germany cope with a lockdown?
Economists such as the head of the Institute for the German Economy, Michael Hüther, warn of an educational disaster.
Shouldn't the schools at least have to reopen?
Schwesig:
Daycare centers and schools have top priority.
Classes should also be made possible if the incidence is over 50.
That is why we have not closed the schools completely in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, but instead enable the graduating classes, for example, to prepare for their exams in the schools.
When we asked whether teachers and educators should not be vaccinated as a matter of priority, the head of the Standing Vaccination Commission told us at the vaccination summit that studies have shown that the dangers in school and daycare are rather low.
SPIEGEL:
But the infections among children and adolescents were initially underestimated, and now the mutant is added.
Some prime ministers are now talking about school closings until Easter.
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Schwesig:
Here too, we should take a regionally differentiated approach.
Countries with a low incidence can certainly open their daycare centers and schools for face-to-face teaching earlier than countries with significantly higher numbers of infections.
SPIEGEL:
At what value would you open?
Schwesig:
We have to proceed step by step.
The final classes have top priority.
Then come the elementary schools, then the other years.
SPIEGEL:
Do you see the risk of losing a vintage?
Schwesig:
No, school is much more than math and German.
I have great respect for the students.
During the corona crisis, you acquired the skills to adapt to such an exceptional situation and to continue learning.
We should acknowledge this when assessing education.
SPIEGEL:
Head of the Chancellery, Helge Braun, criticized the federal states and said that he and the Chancellor would have wished for "a little more consistency" from the Prime Minister's Conference, especially in the schools.
Schwesig:
Such blanket accusations are useless, and they also do not correspond to reality.
In every federal state there is currently only very limited school and daycare operations.
Many pupils have not been to school for weeks.
SPIEGEL:
You also had a clash with the Chancellor on the school issue.
Angela Merkel said she could not be accused of torturing children.
Did you say that?
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Schwesig:
No, of course not.
That's not my choice of words.
I just lamented the disparity in the debate.
Children and adolescents have been under total pressure for a year, while in the world of work a lot more protective measures such as home office, masks and tests are possible.
Schools and daycare centers are not driving this pandemic.
Our main problem is still the old people's and nursing homes.
The greatest dangers remain for the elderly, whom we need to vaccinate and protect as quickly as possible.
The federal government should have focused on the EU's vaccine procurement instead of reproaching the federal states at schools and daycare centers.
SPIEGEL:
Are you not convinced by the results of the vaccination summit?
»Schools and daycare centers are not driving this pandemic.
Our main problem is still the old people's and nursing homes. "
Schwesig:
The EU Commission didn't convince me.
She could not explain in an understandable way why other countries ordered much more vaccine and earlier than the European Union.
The manufacturers assert that they deliver what was ordered.
Really more vaccine comes in the second quarter.
We had a clear division of tasks: the federal states take care of the vaccination centers and the mobile teams, and the federal government takes care of the vaccine.
The latter is lacking.
SPIEGEL:
The Chancellor said on ARD that "by and large" nothing went wrong.
Schwesig:
If other countries are able to vaccinate faster than we can, then everything has definitely not gone right.
It is a big problem that we cannot vaccinate the elderly any faster.
SPIEGEL:
By September 21, every adult who wants should have received at least the first dose of the vaccine.
Angela Merkel promises that.
Do you think so?
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Schwesig:
It depends when the vaccine comes.
At the moment we in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania only know how much vaccine we will receive by February 22nd.
The countries need more commitment and reliability.
We need a national vaccination schedule by next week so that we know exactly how many doses of vaccine are coming each week and month.
SPIEGEL:
What do you expect from the next round with the Chancellor next Wednesday?
Schwesig:
We finally need a nationwide analysis of the mutations
SPIEGEL:
Will the promised exit strategy of the federal and state governments, which will show the way out of lockdown, then also come?
Schwesig:
We need this perspective plan with opening steps, and I hope that we will find an agreement on it next week.
SPIEGEL:
If you were the chancellor of the grand coalition, would you replace the health minister?
Schwesig:
I am the Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and know the realities and problems well, especially when it comes to the shortage of vaccines.
I address that openly.
Not more but also not less.
