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Corona summit with Merkel: draft leaked - new lockdown end and change in contacts

2021-03-02T22:08:31.037Z


On Wednesday, the federal and state governments will again discuss the corona situation. Now ideas have leaked. There could be some relaxation.


On Wednesday, the federal and state governments will again discuss the corona situation.

Now ideas have leaked.

There could be some relaxation.

  • A Corona summit by Chancellor Merkel * is due on March 3 - the basis for discussion has been leaked in advance

    (update from March 1, 1:25 p.m.)

    .

  • Jens Spahn's Federal

    Ministry of

    Health (CDU) has sent a paper on significantly more tests

    (see update from March 1, 3:21 p.m.).

  • According to media reports, a

    proposed

    resolution names a date for a lockdown to end

    (update from March 2, 11:18 a.m.)

    .

  • This news ticker has ended.

    The continuation from March 2nd can be found at this link.

Update from March 2, 11:18 a.m

.: Now

Bild.de

is also

referring to an apparently leaked draft resolution

(see previous update)

for the Corona summit.

Keyword are the Easter holidays 2021. Until then, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) wants to extend the lockdown.

However, the federal and state governments wanted to "test" whether, with the help of corona tests and better contact tracking, openings could be justified even with higher 7-day incidences.

The target of 35 would be off the table - and the lockdown would no longer be “hard”.

You can read the contents of the draft resolution at Merkur.de * in all essential details.

Update from March 2nd, 10:21 am

: As

focus.de

wants to know, there is talk of a lockdown extension - until March 28th.

According to the report, this is what it says in a draft resolution before the Corona summit on Wednesday.

However: The paper provides for relaxation of the contact restrictions, from March 8th.

That would mean meeting with another household, but now with up to five people instead of just one.

In addition, an “emergency brake” is planned, which will put the rules valid until March 7th back into force as soon as a certain incidence is exceeded for more than three days in a row.

The "emergency braking" incidence value is apparently still to be negotiated.

First details leaked out ahead of the Corona summit with Merkel: There are signs of easing, even above the 35 incidence

Update from March 2, 8:23 am

: "We would rather prolong the crisis if we lift too many restrictions at the same time": Hamburg's Mayor Peter Tschentscher warns of tomorrow's Corona consultations.

"We have to prevent a strong third wave before the vaccinations offer us sufficient protection against Corona," said the SPD politician of the

Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung

.

The situation is still critical: "After a few weeks of decline, the number of infections is now rising again nationwide." That is why crowds of people must continue to be avoided and distance and hygiene rules must be observed.

However, loosening should also be possible with a 7-day incidence over 35.

"Due to the currently increasing dynamics of infections, we will certainly not reach this value in the near future.

We have to remain careful, but we have decided to develop an opening strategy that gives planning perspectives and is safe, ”said Tschentscher.

+

Hamburg's Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD, front) in a corona press conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) (archive image)

© Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa

Walter-Borjans takes Merkel's Corona crisis management to court

Update from March 2nd, 6.48am

: "We have a head of government who misses a lot in the coordination of this crisis": SPD leader Norbert Walter-Borjans is tough with Chancellor Angela Merkel's (CDU )’s coronavirus crisis management in court went.

In an interview with the

Augsburger Allgemeine, he

also attacked Federal Economics Minister Peter Altmaier and Health Minister Jens Spahn (both CDU).

"Carefully worded" is "a lot of room for improvement" when it comes to their performance in the corona pandemic.

The weaknesses of the coalition partner would have to be "ironed out" by SPD Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other SPD ministers.

In the double interview with the newspaper, SPD co-leader Saskia Esken also expressed herself critical of the performance of the federal government.

"The experience in the Corona year in particular made it clear that there was a fundamental need for action, for example how far we are lagging behind in digitization, in network expansion, in administration, in schools," she said.

"In education, this is more than before an obstacle to equal opportunities."

Corona vaccine from AstraZeneca: Söder wants to lift vaccination prioritization

Update from March 1, 5:05 p.m.:

When it comes to vaccinations, opinions differ before the Corona summit.

Prime Minister Markus Söder and Health Minister Klaus Holetschek in Bavaria want to lift the vaccination prioritization for AstraZeneca nationwide.

According to picture information, however, Chancellor Angela Merkel does not seem to be enthusiastic about it - just like Armin Laschet and Jens Spahn.

Merkel's Corona Summit: First details leaked - Spahn Ministry makes proposal for tests

Update from March 1, 3:21 p.m.:

Opening

perspectives

are to be decided on Wednesday, this demand comes from a few sides.

What exactly will come of the Corona summit is still unclear.

One of the topics will be how a test concept can be incorporated into an opening strategy.

The Federal Ministry of Health has now specified considerations for significantly more tests for all citizens.

Everyone should be able to have a quick test done by trained staff twice a week free of charge - for example in test centers or practices, but also with other service providers.

This emerges from a new proposal by the ministry on Monday, which was also forwarded to the federal states.

The paper is available to the German Press Agency, which reports on it.

These options for “citizen tests” should initially be offered until the end of June, and an evaluation is planned for the beginning of June.

According to the proposal, the specific start date in March is still open.

In order for sufficient test capacities to be created in a short time, the group of bodies to be commissioned should be expanded to include service providers who have already set up test centers at airports, train stations and highways in a short period of time, it says in the paper.

The result of such a rapid test should be given in writing or digitally - also for presentation to authorities after entering from certain risk areas or when visiting nursing homes.

This would also be conceivable as a prerequisite for entering certain facilities.

If the result is positive, you should be able to have another sample taken directly on site in order to check the result with more precise PCR tests.

In addition, corona self-tests should be increasingly used at home, the first of which are now approved.

Corona lockdown in Germany: hope, but no carelessness

Update from March 1, 3:10 p.m.:

Proceed carefully: The federal government warns of the corona consultations with the states.

“We are now in a phase of hope, thank God.

But it cannot and must not be a carefree phase, ”said government spokesman Steffen Seibert at the federal press conference.

He referred to the falling number of corona patients in intensive care units, attractive vaccinations and rapid tests that will be available in large numbers in the foreseeable future.

On the other hand, there has been an upward trend in new infections for a few days, and new, more contagious virus variants have continued to spread.

Seibert emphasized that there was already a "large wave of opening" in schools, daycare centers and now, among others, hairdressers.

It therefore makes sense to first observe the effects and then carefully take possible next steps.

It is important to avoid having to take back opening steps.

Corona summit on Wednesday: Discussion items leaked

Update from March 1, 1:25 p.m.:

Before the Corona summit on Wednesday, the first details leaked: According to

Business Insider

, government

circles

say that the lockdown is expected to be extended in principle until the end of March.

At the same time, however, according to the report, there should be an “opening perspective” for March that goes further than what the heads of government had decided in mid-February - that is, the opening of hairdressers from March 1 and further openings from incidence values ​​below 35.

Because this value is currently very far away, the states want to "according to reports", as it says in the report, soften the old resolution: There should be a standardization of the areas that have already been opened, such as garden centers.

There could also be a perspective on how to relax at higher incidences.

Business Insider

reports that the first steps could be possible at an incidence of 70 or more.

There are no details yet.

The use of quick and self-tests is important, however.

The discussion is about opening up outdoor areas for restaurants or shopping opportunities with an appointment.

Corona scenario for Germany: 25,000 intensive care patients by mid-May

Update from March 1st, 11:22 am

: “Relaxation” should be a word that German intensive care physicians don't like to hear shortly before the Corona summit (March 3rd).

You are pushing for a lockdown extension - ideally until the 21st

April.

"Otherwise the third wave will be difficult or impossible to control," warned the President of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Divi), Gernot Marx, in Berlin last week.

According to a new Divi forecast model that calculates with different scenarios, an opening in March could, in the worst case, drive the numbers of seriously ill corona patients in clinics exorbitantly up, it said.

Decisive factors are the spread of the mutation B.1.1.7 and the speed at which the over-35s are vaccinated.

The worst scenario: If the system is relaxed from March 7th, there could be up to 25,000 Covid-19 intensive care patients by mid-May.

The previous high was in January at 6000, at the moment it is around 2900. This situation is manageable.

Corona in Germany: intensive care physicians present prognosis - and demand "three weeks of discipline"

A continuation of the lockdown until the beginning of April, however, would bring about 5000 Covid-19 intensive care patients by mid-May, according to the forecast.

Because then the wave of vaccinations has a better chance of pushing itself in front of the wave of infection.

"Three weeks of discipline between March 7th and April 1st decide the match in stoppage time," said Christian Karagiannidis, medical and scientific director of the Divi intensive care register.

According to the model, an opening on April 21 would be even more helpful.

Then there would only be around 2500 Covid-19 intensive care patients in mid-May.

+

A cell infected with Sars-CoV-2 under the microscope.

© Niaid / Europa Press / dpa

Update from March 1st, 10:32 am

: "The mutation is just taking over.

We have to make smart decisions this week - and find the balance between caution and openness ”: Before the Corona summit on March 3, Markus Söder (CSU) warned against a“ blind flight into the third wave ”.

"We mustn't lose our nerve and meet all wishes."

In Munich, the Bavarian Prime Minister and his Saxon Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) presented an alliance between Bavaria and Saxony and Thuringia.

The three federal states are particularly badly affected by new corona infections in counties on the border with the Czech Republic. 

"Rapid tests are a real hope, but not a quick weapon," said Söder about the further strategy.

In addition, one wants to vaccinate among other things the commuters from the Czech Republic soon.

“We have to accelerate now.

The best thing to do is to vaccinate all the AstraZeneca cans we have - not in four or six weeks.

The live ticker for the press conference can be found here.

SPD chancellor candidate Scholz insists on the prospect of relaxing the corona measures

Update from March 1st, 7.14 am

: "I insist that we formulate a concrete opening perspective on Wednesday": Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD *) puts pressure on before the federal-state meeting.

In the Internet program “Bild live” he also said that incidence values ​​of 35 and 50 could not be the sole benchmark for easing in the future.

Scholz also gave the Germans hope on vacation trips in 2021: "In the summer tens of millions will be vaccinated, and that cannot remain without consequences."

Chancellor Braun on "Anne Will" (ARD): Rapid tests should be free

Corona rapid tests are "part of the way out of lockdown", according to Scholz.

According to the head of the Chancellery, Helge Braun (CDU), quick tests should be free of charge for citizens.

Braun said that in the ARD talk * with Anne Will *.

It is planned that people could do them in test centers.

"It can be the municipal test center, it can be doctors and pharmacists," says Braun.

Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) originally announced that the offer would be available to all citizens from March 1

(see our initial report below)

.

+

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (archive image) rely on rapid tests for the Corona strategy.

© John Macdougall / dpa

"Trains are racing towards each other": The dispute comes to a head before the Merkel summit - even Lauterbach makes an opening proposal

Our first report from February 28th

: Berlin / Munich - A few days before the Corona summit, the outcome of the next crisis meeting seems completely open: On the one hand, there are several calls for openings, for example for restaurants.

On the other hand, virus mutations are worrying governments.

In the federal government of Chancellor Angela Merkel * (CDU), a comprehensive opening was apparently not discussed until Pentecost * - that is, at the end of May.

Corona summit is approaching: Lauterbach fears a violent dispute - and makes a concrete opening proposal

SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach described the situation before the summit with a drastic picture: “Two trains are racing towards each other,” he tweeted with a view to the meeting and the apparently incompatible positions.

The Mahner Lauterbach also diagnosed a comprehensive opening request in Germany on Sunday: "All" people now wanted to "finally" relax, he explained.

He could be right: polls at the weekend did not show a very clear picture - but a clear majority in favor of easing the lockdown.

And so the SPD expert also made a specific proposal: If you combine two methods, openings are possible, wrote Lauterbach.

First of all, an “immediate” switch to one instead of two vaccinations is necessary in order to reduce the number of hospital admissions.

On the other hand, Lauterbach spoke out in favor of initially weekly corona antigen tests in schools, companies and the test centers.

On the day of the test you are allowed to go to shops: "This is how you make virtue out of necessity: openings become an incentive for testing."

Corona summit with Merkel: “Gastronomy before Easter”?

Lindner puts pressure on

It remains to be seen whether this scenario will play a role on Wednesday.

It is considered likely that incidence levels 35, 50 and 100 will remain core elements of the agreement.

Depending on the infection situation, more openings for shops, more contacts and more school lessons would be possible regionally under 35, but tightening is stipulated in the case of poorer values.

Basically, that would be a corona traffic light *, like the one that existed last year.

But rapid tests are likely to become an issue - Merkel had recently conceded the test concept from her minister Jens Spahn and postponed the question to the summit.

+

Karl Lauterbach in conversation with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

© Emmanuele Contini / www.imago-images.de

But whether critics will be satisfied with it remains to be seen - the desires are great.

"There can be no permanent lockdown until we have finally made progress in vaccinating," said FDP boss Christian Lindner.

"With quick tests, good masks, air purifiers and other innovative concepts, retail, culture and gastronomy can open before Easter", he explained.

Economics Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) also wanted to present a paper to Chancellor Angela Merkel and the country leaders at the weekend.

One of the goals, apparently, is to open outdoor restaurants in Germany around Easter.

Meanwhile, the paediatricians are calling for schools and daycare centers to be opened quickly.

"Even after virus mutations have occurred, children and adolescents are not the drivers of the pandemic," said the president of the professional association of paediatricians (BVKJ), Thomas Fischbach, the editorial network Germany.

“That is why all schools and daycare centers can and must be reopened immediately.

They do not play a significant role in the infection process *. ”A further closure of the schools would massively increase the collateral damage for children and adolescents, warned Fischbach.

Corona dispute before the summit: Prime Minister hopes for opening - Greens are calling for "urgently needed" measures

There could be some approval in the federal states, at least for openings in the economic sector.

The Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD), for example, considers the reopening of many shops and facilities from the spring to be sensible.

"With quick tests, a private organizer or host, regardless of whether he runs a restaurant, shop or museum, can ensure that his customers are hardly at risk of infection, and thus operate his business again," she told

Bild am Sonntag

.

In Rhineland-Palatinate, elections will take place on March 14th *.

Your Baden-Württemberg counterpart Winfried Kretschmann had recently thought about easing the contact restrictions.

But there is also the demand for continued corona measures.

The Bundestag Greens want an extension of the home office obligation.

"We are probably at the beginning of a third wave," said the Greens labor market expert Beate Müller-Gemmeke on Saturday.

"If the contacts in schools increase again, then in return we have to strengthen measures in the world of work in order to prevent a massive increase in corona infections." It is therefore "urgently necessary" to have the home office regulation beyond March 15 to extend.

Corona lockdown in Germany: Müller promises a loosening of the basic framework - but new problems threaten

Berlin's Governing Mayor Michael Müller (SPD) meanwhile gave hope for clear opening plans.

He assumes that common criteria for a step-by-step opening strategy in the corona crisis will be decided at the summit.

"The basis will be a step-by-step plan that we have already formulated in Berlin," said the chairman of the dpa conference of ministers presidents.

"I firmly expect that we will agree on a basic framework that the countries can use for orientation."

Meanwhile, it is also clear that not only Germany has to get Corona under control in order to stop the pandemic: MPs from four parliamentary groups spoke out on

Merkur.de

*

at the weekend

for more speed in the global vaccine distribution - otherwise an uncontrolled mutation could occur threatened, warned the FDP politician and infectiologist Andrew Ullmann.

(

fn / dpa / AFP

) *

Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.

List of rubric lists: © Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-03-02

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