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Interior Minister Seehofer, Health Minister Spahn at the federal press conference
Photo: JOHN MACDOUGALL / AFP
Jens Spahn assumes that the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus will still account for 70 to 80 percent of new infections in Germany in July.
It is therefore important to maintain the vaccination rate, said the Federal Minister of Health in Berlin.
So far, according to Spahn, two thirds of all adults in Germany have been vaccinated at least once.
In general, 55 percent have now received a first vaccination, and 37.3 percent have been vaccinated twice.
Spahn emphasized that only a full vaccination protects against Delta.
Delta is also spreading in Germany
The particularly contagious delta variant of the corona virus is also on the rise in Germany.
The proportion of infections with the variant first identified in India in all new corona infections doubled again in the third week of June, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
The experts assume that Delta will become the dominant virus strain in Germany by this week at the latest.
Nevertheless, according to Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, stationary border controls are not planned due to Corona. Instead, there is still the veil manhunt, also because of migration and to ward off terrorist threats, says Seehofer in Berlin. The situation is different at the airports, where there is “complete control”. Here the federal police make sure that passengers have an entry registration as well as proof of vaccination, testing or recovery.
Against this background, Seehofer criticized the European football association Uefa for the upcoming European Championship games in London. "I consider this position of the Uefa to be absolutely irresponsible," says the CSU politician in Berlin. It is stated that a football game with 60,000 spectators promotes the infection process, especially in a country that is already severely affected by the delta variant.
With a view to autumn, Spahn appealed to the federal states to keep schools and daycare centers open as long as possible.
After the past few months, children and young people deserved that this was their top responsibility, said Spahn.
In this context, he urges the school authorities in the federal states to ensure that air filters are installed in classrooms.
The federal government supports this to the best of its knowledge and belief, especially financially.
But: "The federal government cannot install filters in schools."
Portugal and the UK are slated to be downgraded soon
The federal government would soon downgrade Portugal and Great Britain from virus variants to high incidence areas for travelers, Spahn announced. This will be the case if the proportions of the more contagious delta variant are comparable. According to estimates by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), every second corona infection in Germany is due to the delta variant this week.
The decisive factor for the decision to be expected in the coming days will be that the relative proportion of the variant in Germany increases and that it becomes dominant, said Spahn.
At the same time, it is crucial that the double vaccinations protect against Delta and that this increase in Germany.
The step will "not be far off."
The current classification as a virus variant area results in strict quarantine rules even for vaccinated travelers.
Portugal, like Russia and previously Great Britain, was recently classified as a virus variant area because of the spread of the Delta variant.
This means that there are strict restrictions on returnees.
The returnees must be in quarantine for 14 days, even if they have been vaccinated or have recovered.
You can't test yourself either.
Overall, however, only two percent of infections in Germany are currently due to a "traceable place of infection" in Germany, said Spahn.
No neighboring country is currently classified as a risk area
Spahn pointed out that, due to the lower number of infections, the health authorities now have more capacity to monitor compliance with the quarantine of travelers returning more closely.
Seehofer said the federal, state and local authorities must ensure that the corona rules are observed everywhere.
It is a matter of not jeopardizing the success achieved so far in combating the pandemic.
No neighboring country of Germany is currently classified as a risk area.
The random checks of motorists near the border, for example, concern travelers who come by car from Turkey or the UK.
Travelers who have been in a risk area, high incidence area or virus variant area in the past ten days must fill out an electronic entry form before arriving in Germany.
asa / dpa / AFP / Reuters