On August 10th, Angela Merkel and her Prime Minister colleagues will appear again in front of the press, because a new Corona summit is coming up.
What is being discussed?
Berlin - It's the way of things: Summer is followed by autumn.
And it threatens to be another Corona autumn.
Compared to 2020, a large part of the population is now vaccinated, but travelers returning from summer vacation could fuel the dynamic of outbreaks again.
Similar to last year - has politics learned anything?
At the moment it looked more like watching.
Statements instead of deeds caused a stir.
At least it is now clear: On August 10th, the prime ministers of the federal states want to meet again with Chancellor Angela Merkel * (CDU) for the infamous Corona summit - and thus earlier than planned.
"The corridor to effectively counteract the current development is getting narrower," said Michael Müller (SPD *), Governing Mayor of Berlin and Chairman of the Prime Minister's Conference on Tuesday.
Action must be taken quickly.
But which topics should be on the agenda?
Corona in Germany: Will the incidence remain the measure of all things - or will a new value come?
A fundamental question that has been floating around for a few weeks, but has not yet been conclusively clarified: What value is being looked at now to assess the Corona * infection process? The seven-day incidence continues to be given everywhere, but its validity is now disputed. Experts and politicians are calling for new foundations. Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU *) already brought the "hospitalization rate" into play. In future, the hospitals should be looked at more closely: who is on the wards, with what severity of illness and what vaccination status?
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder * (CSU *) also spoke of a "coefficient" that, in addition to the incidence, should also look at the corona hospital numbers and vaccination progress.
Lower Saxony promoted a new number that also takes vaccinations into account.
But such a specific formula has not yet made the rounds or has become the measure of all things.
The problem: Before it seems to start with mathematical calculations, the decision-makers obviously have to agree on moving away from incidence as the sole yardstick.
The Robert Koch Institute, more precisely President Lothar Wieler, does not yet seem entirely convinced *.
Discussions before the Corona summit: mandatory testing for travelers returning?
In addition, if there is not a clear agreement beforehand, the meeting should again discuss what travelers returning to Germany must show. Does everyone, regardless of where they come from, need a negative corona test (except those who have been proven to be vaccinated and those who have recovered)? This requirement is on the table.
More and more countries are becoming high-risk areas again.
“That is why we need consistent entry controls,” said Brandenburg's Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD).
And the state boss of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig (SPD), wants stricter rules.
Even when returning from a risk area, "two tests and a quarantine up to the second test should be mandatory," she told the
Handelsblatt
.
Because a test on return is not conclusive enough.
But there may already be a new regulation before the Corona summit: Söder last spoke on August 1 for an expansion of the corona test obligation for travelers returning.
A spokeswoman for the federal government did not confirm this.
The start date is still open for the time being.
Corona summit with Merkel: how will the vaccinations continue? Paid tests for unvaccinated people?
The subject of corona vaccination is of course still not letting go of politics. The vaccination landscape in Germany has changed in the meantime: Vaccinations are now also given in front of furniture stores, for example, and no longer just in the vaccination center and at the family doctor. “Vaccination to go” should be the new hit. But if that doesn't raise the vaccination curve again quickly, new measures could soon follow. The federal government rejected the vaccination requirement and Bavaria's Prime Minister is in exchange for money as an incentive. But in the discussion of whether tests will cost something for unvaccinated people in the future, no final word has been said. The rights of freedom for those who have been vaccinated should also be discussed further. As well as vaccinations for minors aged 12 and over. Because in some federal states the summer holidays will soon be over.Which is why the school topic will probably be on the agenda again in some form at the Corona summit on August 10th.
Because the “German patchwork quilt” was already highly controversial in the previous months, after the heads of government sat together for hours and ended up doing their own thing again. If a uniform line is not found soon, something like this threatens again. And that although the guideline remains as Woidke put it: “We have to do everything we can to ensure that normal life can be maintained as much as possible.”
(Cibo) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.