Jens Spahn once again sounded the alarm at the press conference.
He is particularly concerned about the stress in the intensive care units.
He showed this on the basis of a prognosis.
Munich - With every further press conference they become clearer, more urgent, almost desperate. Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn and Lothar Wieler, head of the Robert Koch Institute, tried once again to describe the urgency of the current corona situation in Germany. The most emotional moment was provided by Wieler, who paused for a moment at the beginning of his statement to mourn the many dead from the pandemic. So he asked, visibly touched, what it would take for everyone to understand what was at stake. "Let's fight the pandemic as if our lives depend on it," he affirmed.
The duo renewed the demands for “clear contact restrictions”, the cancellation of major events and, if necessary, the regional “shutdown of public life” - without actively using the word “lockdown”.
Wieler used figures to explain why these measures have to take effect as quickly as possible. 18.9 percent of intensive care beds in Germany are currently occupied by Covid patients.
That doesn't sound like a lot, "but it corresponds to every fifth bed available".
Coronavirus: RKI boss Wieler lists new figures - Spahn makes a bad forecast
More than 4,000 patients in Germany would be treated in intensive care due to Corona. 2,000 patients were transferred to intensive care for the first time within just seven days. Most of them are 50 to 79 years old, and 85 percent of them have to be ventilated. This is a difficult and stressful situation for the people affected and the treating staff.
Spahn's gloomy prognosis on the subject: "Even if there were no more infections in Germany from tomorrow: With the 150,000 infections in the last two days alone, there will be 1,000 additional intensive care patients in ten to 14 days." The health system would continue to be burdened, a There is no going back.
“That will only increase one way or another.
Unfortunately, it has not reached its peak, even if we stop it by 100 percent, ”warns the CDU politician.
Coronavirus: vaccination campaign gives new hope
Despite all the warnings and appeals, there is still hope for a pleasant Christmas. According to the head of the Robert Koch Institute, we are currently at a metaphorical intersection that will either lead “into chaos” and a bad end, or to relieve the health system and “a peaceful Christmas”. We still have the opportunity to counteract the fourth wave with appropriate measures. The current upswing in the vaccination campaign is also positive in this respect. According to Spahn, 18 million booster doses would be delivered in the coming days, and more than 100,000 people recently got their first vaccination. "Every percent that closes the vaccination gap helps us fight the pandemic," said the Minister of Health.
Which measures will actually be taken by politicians will be clarified in the coming days.
For Spahn and Wieler it is clear: “The faster we step on the brakes, the better!” Otherwise the current wave would hit us harder and harder and force even more drastic measures in “two to four weeks”.
This also shows which direction Germany has taken at the intersection and whether the route ends in an unexpected one-way street.
In any case, Spahn and Wieler can hardly be much clearer in their warnings and prognoses.
(ta)
