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Wrestling about possible new corona measures - but for whom?

2021-07-26T14:57:47.571Z


There are still few new cases, but the trend is clearly upwards. Will that bring corona restrictions again in autumn? Politicians now want to prepare for this - and at the same time boost vaccinations.


There are still few new cases, but the trend is clearly upwards.

Will that bring corona restrictions again in autumn?

Politicians now want to prepare for this - and at the same time boost vaccinations.

Berlin - In view of the rapidly increasing number of corona infections, stronger countermeasures are once again in focus - but what does that mean for millions of citizens who have already been vaccinated?

The federal government now wants to discuss this with the federal states in order to prevent a new big wave after the summer holidays. The dispute continues over possibly stricter rules for people who, despite many offers, will not be vaccinated in the next few weeks. However, the federal government does not want a “mandatory vaccination through the back door”, as deputy spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said on Monday in Berlin.

Despite the low incidence, the current situation is "definitely cause for concern," said Demmer. As of today, the number of cases has risen by 75 percent within a week. "If this development continues like this, we will have to take additional measures." Everything should be done to avoid a situation like the one in spring, she said with a view to the third corona wave. Nationwide, the number of new infections reported per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), has now increased to 14.3 - the previous day it was 13.8, the latest low on July 6 was 4.9.

Two months before the federal election, the further procedure for corona crisis management is a delicate matter: Which steps make sense when, for whom, and possibly meet with broader acceptance in the middle of the hot election campaign phase? Demmer said that in the coming days and weeks it should be considered with the federal states what is possible and what can be done. Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) will also have a round with the Prime Minister - date still open. The focus is on a higher vaccination rate, how to deal with returning travelers and possible measures against rising numbers.

When it comes to vaccinations, after a long request for patience, there are now regular appeals to those who are hesitant - because enough vaccine is now available. "The goal set at the beginning of the vaccination campaign of offering every person willing to vaccinate by the end of the summer was therefore already achieved at the beginning of the summer and thus much earlier," says a report with the head of department Jens Spahn (CDU ) informed the Bundestag and its country colleagues on Monday.

Now it is important to reach citizens who have not yet decided on a vaccination, it goes on to say. Concrete, low-threshold offers on site are important for this. Almost half of the people in Germany (49.4 percent) are now fully vaccinated, according to the RKI, so 60.9 percent of the population have at least one first injection. There are, however, regional differences: In Bremen, 69.8 percent of the population are vaccinated at least once; Saxony continues to bring up the rear with a share of 51.6 percent.

As a vaccination incentive, it should also be possible to be spared from possible new restrictions - but how exactly is open.

The federal government emphasized in general that those who have been fully vaccinated and those who have recovered with a single vaccination - in contrast to those tested using a rapid test - no longer make a relevant contribution to the infection process.

Tests are also not 100 percent reliable and meaningful.

Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) sees vaccinated people at an advantage in a possible fourth corona wave.

"You must not have any restrictions like those who do not want to be vaccinated," he told the German Press Agency.

“I think it is right that there is no compulsory vaccination.

But that also means that without vaccination you have to accept disadvantages such as constant testing. "

Federal Minister of Justice Christine Lambrecht (SPD) said on ZDF: “There will be no general compulsory vaccination.” It should remain that those who have been vaccinated, those who have recovered and those who have tested negative have access. "If everyone who can get vaccinated still doesn't do that, then you may have to think about whether the test options are then at their expense."

Chancellery Minister Helge Braun (CDU) had brought up possible restrictions for non-vaccinated people. "This can also mean that certain offers such as restaurant, cinema and stadium visits would no longer be possible even for tested unvaccinated people because the residual risk is too high," he told "Bild am Sonntag". On Monday, Braun explained in the “Bild” talk that just in case the group of unvaccinated people should remain so large that there was a relevant wave, they should also be treated differently in the event of restrictions.

Green Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock said that the most important thing was to make everyone a vaccination offer. "And then in the next step, when that has been done, to talk about the fact that in some areas people who are vaccinated can do things and others cannot." Left federal manager Jörg Schindler warned against putting people who were not vaccinated under pressure . Better information and vaccination options are needed. FDP General Secretary Volker Wissing told the "Rheinische Post" that instead of threatening vaccination obligations or new contact restrictions, all levers should be pulled so that the "fallen asleep vaccination campaign" would pick up speed.

Lambrecht also referred to the freedom of contract. It leaves a restaurateur "of course open whether he restricts the hospitality in his restaurant to vaccinated people, for example". The German Hotel and Restaurant Association considers something like this to be conceivable only in a “worst case”, when the infection situation worsens dramatically. General Manager Ingrid Hartges told the dpa: “There is currently no reason to get something like this off the ground. That would be level X, but we are far from that. ”In most countries there is currently no compulsory test for indoor catering. dpa

Source: merkur

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