Corona summit: First country prefers rules - Lauterbach speaks out about the new lockdown

Created: 12/21/2021Updated: 12/21/2021, 10:03 PM

By: Patrick Mayer, Felix Durach, Fabian Müller

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz met again for the MPK on Tuesday.

There were no major surprises, but in future contact restrictions will also apply to vaccinated people.

• Coronavirus summit in the news ticker:

  On Tuesday (December 21), Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) * and the state minister-presidents * will discuss the future corona rules.

• The first federal state prefers the new corona rules

  (see update from December 21, 8:40 p.m.).

• New rules have been adopted at the MPK.

  You can find an overview of the corona measures here *.

• This

  news ticker for the Bund-Länder-Round

  is updated regularly.

Update from December 21, 10:00 p.m.:

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach defended the latest federal-state resolutions to contain the corona virus, but at the same time did not rule out tougher steps.

“What we decided today has an effect,” Lauterbach assured on Tuesday evening in an interview with

- “Tagesthemen”.

“But we're not ruling anything out.

So if the number of cases actually developed in such a way that a hard lockdown also had to be discussed, then there would be no red lines.

We're not there at the moment. "

Update from December 21, 8:40 p.m.:

The first federal state has announced that it is already taking tougher measures earlier.

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the contact restrictions apply from December 24th, which are to be introduced nationwide by December 28th at the latest.

Thereafter, a maximum of ten vaccinated or recovered people may meet privately.

Unvaccinated people are only allowed to get together with two other people.

After the MPK and Olaf Scholz's speech, two prime ministers are raging

Update from October 21, 8:22 p.m.:

The measures decided by the MPK in the fight against the pandemic do not go far enough for Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann. The agreed contact restrictions are not sufficient, especially when the situation comes to a head, the Green politician told the

on Tuesday evening after the Prime Minister's

. The countries still lacked the instruments to contain the pandemic. If the Omikron mutant ramped up, he could no longer order curfews, criticized Kretschmann.

In a protocol declaration on the resolution of the Federal Government and the Prime Ministers on Tuesday, Baden-Württemberg calls on the Bundestag, with a view to the exponential spread of the Omikron variant, to re-establish the so-called "epidemic situation of national importance" in the short term. The state governments of Baden-Württemberg and Saxony also declare that they consider the measures adopted by the federal and state governments to counter the pandemic to be inadequate.

Update from October 21, 7:38 p.m.:

Scholz emphasizes that compulsory vaccination is important even with a better vaccination rate.

"We know that we need a high vaccination rate," said the Chancellor.

In view of the vaccine development, there is a lot to suggest that another vaccination with the new vaccine must be made, said Scholz.

He considers compulsory vaccination to be necessary.

"The Corona issue will not leave us anytime soon." That is the end of the press conference after the MPK.

Update from October 21, 7:34 p.m.:

Scholz is approached again about the RKI demands from the afternoon.

The Chancellor emphasizes that he has found the expertise of the RKI "to be particularly important and will find it important." But he was glad that the advice of the expert committee was being listened to.

Corona summit: Scholz warns of Omikron - contract restrictions still apply

Update from October 21, 7:32 p.m.:

Scholz, Wüst and Giffey emphasize that the discussions were amicable.

According to Giffey, the MPK would have lasted only two hours, which shows how quickly and unanimously such discussions would lead to decisions.

She emphasizes that personal responsibility is important in the coming days.

"I see how many people adhere to the measures and are very careful and responsible."

Update from October 21, 7:25 p.m.:

We must not be deceived by the current good path, says Scholz and warns again about Omikron. According to the Federal Chancellor, strict contact restrictions continue to apply. Scholz believes that many unvaccinated people can still be persuaded to be vaccinated. The experience of the new wave would lead many to consider whether it might not be better to get vaccinated.

Update from October 21, 7:14 p.m.:

Scholz emphasizes that

will be taken amicably.

He describes the resolutions as a "clear, strict path".

In response to a question from a journalist about the criticism of the RKI, Wüst added that such an institute was important and that he could not understand the criticism to that extent.

Giffey contradicts and emphasizes that there is a joint committee of experts that acts in an advisory capacity.

Corona summit with Scholz: Federal Chancellor, Wüst and Giffey call for vaccinations

Update from October 21, 7:09 p.m.:

Olaf Scholz is asked about the stricter measures required by the RKI against Omikron. Scholz replies that the task of the expert council, of which the RKI is a member, is to convey a vote from the deliberations. He is grateful for the services of the RKI. But strict measures would already apply in Germany, said Scholz.

Update from October 21st, 7:02 pm:

Franziska Giffey talks about the fact that we have to “think responsibly” about how we should behave over Christmas. She emphasizes: "We cannot take a break from vaccinating." In Berlin, a third had been boosted, the vaccination rate for primary vaccinations is almost 75 percent. Vaccinating children is also important, said Giffey. "New Year's Eve will not be the time of the big party," Giffey concludes her statement and calls for vaccinations again. "Please take advantage of all these offers!"

Update from October 21, 6:58 p.m.:

NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst takes over.

He calls on the federal government to prepare for mandatory vaccination.

Like Scholz, Wüst also talks about maintaining the critical infrastructure.

“We have to prepare for this,” said Wüst.

The federal and state governments will exchange ideas closely with the relevant bodies.

Pandemic plans should work.

Wüst emphasizes that it is important to continue to involve the Expert Council.

He criticizes the decision of the RKI to demand measures in advance.

But he also emphasizes that the RKI "saved many lives" with its work during the pandemic.

Corona summit: New measures will apply from December 28th - focus on critical infrastructure

Update from October 21, 6:52 p.m.:

New measures will apply from December 28, announced Scholz. Operations in the critical infrastructure are requested to prepare measures for core supply. In addition, 3G will continue to apply in the workplace, in cinemas and in retail outlets, the 2G rule still applies. The contact restrictions for unvaccinated people also continue to apply. Contact restrictions now also apply to those who have recovered and who have been vaccinated, a maximum of ten people may meet from December 28th.

Clubs and discos will be closed until further notice. Even major events have to do without an audience. The sale of fireworks is prohibited, and there is a ban on gatherings on New Year's Eve. "We have to stand together again and in many cases keep our distance," says Scholz. Then Germany would get through the next corona wave well.

Update from October 21, 6.48 p.m.:

Omikron has not yet appeared nationwide in Germany, but it will be a matter of weeks before this variant will prevail, warns Scholz. New measures will start after Christmas, from experience one could say that Christmas was not a pandemic driver last year, so the reasoning. Scholz emphasizes the importance of vaccinations and the booster campaign. Scholz announced that a further 30 million booster vaccinations should be achieved by the end of January. "Vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate remains our goal."

Update from December 21, 6.43 p.m.:

Scholz thanks his expert

.

Their scientific assessment is the basis of the decisions that are now being made.

"We mustn't close our eyes to the next wave," said Scholz.

Although the number of infections is currently falling, the measures would have worked.

“So we're slowly getting a grip on the fourth wave.” But now the fifth wave is looming.

Update from December 21, 6.40 p.m.:

After the MPK, the press conference with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst and the ruling mayor of Berlin Franziska Giffey begins.

Prime Minister's Conference: Compulsory vaccination should be initiated quickly

Update from December 21, 6:24 p.m .:

The Prime Minister's

has ended, a new MPK is scheduled for January 7th. This is reported by the

. In view of the Omikron danger, stricter contact restrictions should also apply to vaccinated and convalescent people from December 28th at the latest. According to the

federal and state governments have agreed on this. According to this, private get-togethers between vaccinated and convalescent people should only be allowed “at the latest” from December 28th with a maximum of ten people - children up to 14 years of age excluded. The point is only one of many, the agreement on the entire paper was still pending early in the evening.

The federal states asked the Bundestag and the federal government to press ahead with the preparations for a general vaccination requirement and to “present a schedule at short notice”. The occurrence of the Corona virus variant Omikron increases the "urgency" of the introduction of a general vaccination requirement, which is being considered for February 2022, according to the resolution proposal of the federal states.

Update from December 21, 6:12 p.m.:

The summit participants have agreed to initiate the general vaccination requirement as quickly as possible in view of the more contagious Omicron variant. This is what the

wants to

know and speaks of the first decision. But not everyone agrees: Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder attacked the FDP in the round. Because its deputy chairman Wolfgang Kubicki had clearly positioned himself in public against the compulsory vaccination.

When asked about this, Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, also from the FDP, countered: “I represent the Ministry of Justice here and not the MP Kubicki.” According to the

Söder replies

: “You are in a party. You will know what Kubicki wants. "Finally, Christian Lindner intervenes and soothes with the words:" Paying attention to the choice of words is always recommended. "Linder refers to CDU chief Merz, who recently positioned himself cautiously against compulsory vaccinations .

However, Scholz also makes it clear that the compulsory vaccination should be decided in the Bundestag and not at the summit.

This is where this discussion should take place.

It was therefore only decided that the procedure should be started as quickly as possible.

Before that there should have been a heated discussion between the countries on the subject.

Then, according to the

, Saxony's Prime Minister Kretschmer demanded

a Christmas lockdown.

He wants to close all events, sports facilities and restaurants throughout Germany over the holidays.

Update from December 21, 4:46 p.m.:

The Corona-MPK has been running since 4 p.m. and according to the

, Chancellor Scholz started the meeting with an announcement of measures.

The conference is not about text work, but about the implementation of new rules.

Then he turned to the report on the RKI demands and apparently criticized them heavily: The basis of the MPK is therefore the paper of the Expert Council and not the demands of the RKI.

Karl Lauterbach also apparently shot sharply at the RKI.

The publication was "not coordinated".

Something like that shouldn't happen, according to the health minister, according to

.

The head of the Expert Council, Heyo Kroemer, also criticized Wieler's Institute.

He is said to have said: "I didn't have time to read the RKI paper today."

Update from December 21, 4:40 p.m.:

Whom is banned from what? This is a constant question in the almost two year long coronavirus pandemic. The Christmas markets in several federal states were canceled (and banned) at short notice at the end of November and beginning of December. In Bavarian: Christmas markets.

No wonder: at the end of this year's Christmas market season, the showmen's association drew a bad conclusion.

“The Christmas markets were a financial disaster.

The restrictions were just too strong, ”said the President of the Schaustellerbund, Albert Ritter, the

.

The 2G regulation had already caused sales to drop to a third of the normal level, but 2G plus was equivalent to a rejection.

"Then it was only 5 to 10 percent of the usual turnover".

Now the country chiefs want to sharpen the corona rules again.

Once again.

Other sectors could be affected, for example (night) gastronomy or fitness studios.

Corona summit in the news ticker today: B-countries emphasize the "urgency" of a general vaccination requirement

Update from December 21, 3:55 p.m.:

In view of the Omikron danger, the Union-led federal states and the green-ruled Baden-Württemberg are putting pressure on the federal government to promote the general compulsory vaccination.

The occurrence of the Corona virus variant Omikron increases the "urgency" of the introduction of a general vaccination requirement, which is being considered for February 2022, according to a draft resolution of the so-called B-states for the virtual federal-state crisis consultations this Tuesday.

The draft is available to the

.

The Union states ask the Ampel-Bundesregierung to press ahead with the preparations and “to present a schedule at short notice”.

Corona summit in the news ticker today: Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is under pressure

Update from December 21, 3:35 p.m.:

Karl Lauterbach (SPD) comes under pressure shortly after taking office.

The German Foundation for Patient Protection has clearly criticized the new health minister in the context of the federal-state consultations.

The SPD politician was just a few weeks ago “chief admonisher of the republic” and is now making a “180 degree turn” as Federal Health Minister, said board member Eugen Brysch in an interview with the

(dpa).

He criticized an allegedly contradicting communication.

“What should be sensible on New Year's Eve cannot be wrong on Christmas Eve,” said the patient advocates.

Demanded in the Corona crisis: Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (left) and Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (both SPD).

© IMAGO / photothek

Update from December 21, 3:15 p.m.:

Parallel to the federal-state summit on the corona pandemic, Federal Family Minister Anne Spiegel (The Greens) warned of additional restrictions for children and adolescents.

"We shouldn't talk about new restrictions for children and adolescents first, but only last, if this is unavoidable," said Spiegel on Tuesday of the

.

If "urgently needed strict contact restrictions" are discussed, then it must be "about the everyday life of adults: about working life, about leisure time and private contacts", explained the Green politician.

Corona summit in the news ticker today: RKI calls for new tough rules in Germany

Update from December 21, 2:55 p.m.: 

Apparently, quite suddenly, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) got involved in the debate about strict contact restrictions in Germany at the end of December, beginning of January (

).

And that with real tough demands on politics.

In a tweet, the RKI demands “maximum contact restrictions” - immediately.

On top of that.

The details from the RKI paper with the title “Strategy supplement to cope with the beginning pandemic wave” are tough.

Accordingly, the federal authority from Berlin demands from the Corona summit:

• Gastronomy lockdown:

  Restaurants and pubs are also to close.

  Only "to go" sales should be possible.

• Daycare centers and schools:

  The Christmas holidays for children and young people are to be extended.

• Large events

  : Should be banned without exception.

  Also means: ghost games in the soccer Bundesliga and in the other leagues of German professional sport such as the handball Bundesliga (HBL) and the German ice hockey league (DEL), some of which were recently allowed to play before limited audience capacities.

• Fitness studios and indoor swimming pools: should

  close.

  "Active sport" should be possible "only outdoors".

• Curfews

  : In its recommendation to politicians, the RKI explains: “The option for a further reduction in contacts, e.g.

  B. by restricting mobility in regions with particularly high virus activity, should be created. "

Update from December 21, 2:45 p.m.: 

The prime ministers of the federal states have started their deliberations on stricter measures against the feared omicron wave in the corona pandemic.

The country heads first discuss among themselves in a video conference.

Later, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) was supposed to be involved.

Corona summit in the news ticker today: Hamburg is pushing ahead with rules

Update from December 21, 2:15 p.m.: 

Hamburg rushes forward, a few hours before all of the country chiefs will finally consult with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on the coronavirus pandemic this afternoon.

As reported by several media, only ten people are allowed to come together privately in the Hanseatic city.

This applies to those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered.

Unvaccinated people from one household are only allowed to meet with two other people from another household.

A curfew from 11 p.m. is to take effect in the catering trade, dance events are prohibited.

This means that clubs and discos in the metropolis, which is also a federal state, will have to close.

Corona summit in the news ticker today: Bavaria's Markus Söder (CSU) criticizes RKI sharply

Update from December 21st, 1:15 p.m.: 

Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder announced his amazement at the RKI tweet in his press conference before the federal-state summit on Tuesday. In this, the institute demanded immediate contact restrictions - at the same time, the federal government is holding on to Christmas without restrictions. Health Minister Lauterbach and the RKI would first have to come to an agreement, said Söder. He was “extremely irritated” about the communication between the federal government and the Robert Koch Institute and demanded clarification at the federal level. It is "extremely unfortunate" when there are new messages almost every hour, said Söder on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting in Munich.

He reacted to a current message from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), which recommends "maximum contact restrictions" due to the current Corona situation in Germany. From the RKI's point of view, these should "start immediately" and apply until mid-January. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), on the other hand, had ruled out a lockdown for Christmas on the weekend. All of this makes a somewhat uncoordinated impression, said Söder and criticized: "If the ministry and the most important authority contradict each other, it leaves more question marks than exclamation marks."

"We are surprised at what the federal government is doing," added Söder, also with a view to the draft resolution for the federal-state round - this proposal comes from the federal government itself, he emphasized.

And in this paper, for example, no new contact restrictions are proposed directly for Christmas, but independent contact limits at family celebrations, but real restrictions then "from December 28th at the latest".

Corona summit in the news ticker today: Baden-Württemberg's Kretschmann for quick measures

Update from December 21, 1 p.m.:

Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann has quickly called for stricter measures in the fight against the corona virus in view of the very contagious Omikron variant. The vaccination is important, but not enough - private contacts would have to be reduced, said the Green politician on Tuesday in Stuttgart shortly before the federal-state switch on the pandemic.

Kretschmann also called for the Bundestag to declare the so-called epidemic situation of national importance. "What else has to happen for it to be called out?" He asked. The countries need the whole set of instruments in the fight against the virus. The constant readjustment does not do justice to the overall situation. “I will order a tour from Scholz,” he said, looking at the new Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). A lockdown cannot be ruled out either. He also criticized the federal government made up of the SPD, FDP and the Greens. You informed the countries too late about the danger posed by the Omikron variant. He only received the analysis of the Expert Council on Sunday - after hearing it on the news.

Update from December 21st, 12.45 p.m .:

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is pushing forward and recommends “maximum contact restrictions” due to the current Corona situation in Germany.

These should "start immediately" and apply until mid-January, as the RKI wrote on Tuesday on Twitter.

Corona summit today: Report on secret Omicron forecast from the Chancellery

Update from December 21, 12:10 p.m.:

An internal forecast - apparently directly from the Federal Chancellery - makes you sit up and take notice. Accordingly, the

claims to have learned information from a secret conversation between the Federal Chancellery, the heads of the state chancelleries of the federal states and the Charité chairman Heyo Kroemer, who heads the Federal Government's Expert Council. According to the information provided by the newspaper, contact restrictions should apply again in Germany by December 28th at the latest, for those who have not been vaccinated as well as those who have recovered and who have been vaccinated. The explosive thing about it: The date should not be a coincidence!

Because the introduction of the measure should coincide with the beginning of the Omikron wave, which Kroemer expects from the Federal Government's Expert Council in the first days of January.

The pharmacologist cites the reason that contact restrictions can only be maintained for a short period of time.

Therefore, the measure should only be imposed shortly before the start of the Ominikron wave, otherwise there would be the risk that the lifting of the contact restrictions would coincide with the start of the new wave.

Corona summit: NRW Prime Minister Wüst does not want to rule out “anything”

Update from December 21, 10:45 a.m.:

I urgently warn against excluding things now. That happened too often in the pandemic and it also cost credibility. We shouldn't rule anything out today. ”With these words, the chairman of the Prime Minister's Conference, Hendrik Wüst, Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, made a clear announcement shortly before the Corona summit.

Wüst (CDU) spoke to Bild Live in favor of a clear plan to contain the pandemic in the coming weeks: "We should prepare now, we should develop a plan for the coming weeks so that we can get through this time safely." It is currently not legally possible to close schools or restaurants. The new majority in the Bundestag ruled that out by ending the pandemic emergency. "We will discuss whether what we have today is sufficient."

Regarding a new wave of infections from the Omikron variant, Wüst said: “The experts describe the fifth wave that is now approaching us as very, very dangerous. We now have to make decisions so that we can also maintain our critical infrastructure, for example. Nobody can say today when that will be over or what measures we will be forced to take. "

Update from December 21, 10.15 a.m.:

The new Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann wants to punish violations of a possible general corona vaccination obligation with fines. "Nobody should be vaccinated against their will by means of physical coercion," said the FDP politician to the newspapers of the

on Tuesday. “Instead, it would be conceivable to treat a violation of the obligation to provide proof of vaccination as an administrative offense. Fines could then be considered as a sanction. It would also be conceivable to take into account the financial situation in individual cases when measuring. "

Buschmann left it open whether he would vote for a general vaccination requirement in the Bundestag or not. He will only make a decision when all the applications have been submitted. "There is an application that denies mandatory vaccination, there will certainly be an application that goes in the direction of general vaccination," he said. "And there will probably be a third application that works with a compulsory vaccination according to age."

Update vom 21. Dezember, 9.10 Uhr: Angesichts der rasanten Ausbreitung der Omikron-Variante des Coronavirus dringt Grünen-Fraktionschefin Britta Haßelmann auf Vorkehrungen zum Schutz der kritischen Infrastruktur. Dabei gehe es besonders um die Gefahr von Personalengpässen, sagte Haßelmann der Rheinischen Post vom Dienstag. „Gemeinsam mit Bund und Ländern muss schnell darüber beraten werden, ob und wie Kräfte etwa des Technischen Hilfswerks, des Deutschen Roten Kreuzes oder anderer Verbände eingebunden werden können.“

Experten sehen die Gefahr, dass in allen Bereichen in kurzer Zeit viele Arbeitskräfte ausfallen könnten, weil sie infiziert oder in Quarantäne sind. „Mit dem Krisenstab des Bundes und der Länder sollten wir unverzüglich Notfallpläne weiterentwickeln, um für mögliche Personalengpässe in der kritischen Infrastruktur gewappnet zu sein“, forderte daher Haßelmann. „Das derzeitige Infektionsgeschehen mit Blick auf Omikron in Großbritannien und den Niederlanden zeigt uns, dass wir darauf vorbereitet sein müssen“, sagte die Grünen-Politikerin. Zur kritischen Infrastruktur zählen etwa Krankenhäuser, Polizei und Feuerwehr, aber auch beispielsweise Energieversorger oder die Müllabfuhr.

Haßelmann forderte auch, nicht nur zusätzliche Corona-Schutzmaßnahmen zu beschließen, sondern auch deren Einhaltung besser zu kontrollieren. Das betreffe etwa die Homeoffice-Pflicht sowie das Tragen von FFP2-Masken am Arbeitsplatz. Die Regierenden von Bund und Ländern wollen am Nachmittag über die Lage beraten und zusätzliche Maßnahmen beschließen. Wirksam werden sollen diese allerdings erst nach Weihnachten.

Corona-Gipfel heute: Scholz, Lauterbach und Länder greifen durch - die Pläne für Weihnachten und Silvester

Update vom 21. Dezember, 8.15 Uhr: Bundesbildungsministerin Bettina Stark-Watzinger will neue flächendeckende Schulschließungen „unbedingt vermeiden“. „Kinder und Jugendliche haben schon bisher eine große Last in der Corona-Pandemie getragen. Sie brauchen beste Bildung. Die Lernrückstände dürfen nicht noch zunehmen“, sagte die FDP-Politikerin der Deutschen Presse-Agentur vor den Bund-Länder-Beratungen am heutigen Dienstag über schärfere Beschränkungen zum Jahreswechsel.

„Solange wir noch ins Fußballstadion gehen können, darf keine Schule schließen“, so Stark-Watzinger. Die Corona-Variante Omikron stelle das Land vor große Herausforderungen. „Es ist gut, dass der Expertenrat der Bundesregierung eine erste Stellungnahme dazu erarbeitet hat“, sagte sie. „Impfen, boostern und auch Kontaktbeschränkungen sind die richtigen Gegenmaßnahmen.“

Update vom 21. Dezember, 6.30 Uhr: Die Spitzen von Bund und Ländern kommen am Dienstag, 16 Uhr, zusammen, um über schärfere Corona-Schutzmaßnahmen zu entscheiden. Geplant sind unter anderem Kontaktbeschränkungen auch für Genesene und Geimpfte, um die Verbreitung der hoch ansteckenden Omikron-Variante zu bremsen. Im Gespräch war, dass sich nur noch höchstens zehn Menschen treffen können, egal ob in Innenräumen oder draußen.

Die Einschränkungen dürften kurz nach Weihnachten in Kraft treten, also auch zum Jahreswechsel bereits gelten. Zudem soll die laufende Impfkampagne weiter vorangetrieben werden. Auch soll es Vorkehrungen zur Sicherung von Krankenhäusern, Polizei und Feuerwehr geben. Im Anschluss an die Beratungen ist eine Pressekonferenz vorgesehen. Auch der Gesundheitsausschuss des Bundestages berät über die Corona-Lage (13.00 Uhr)

Corona-Gipfel am Dienstag: Regierung will Omikron vorweggreifen - erste Details durchgesickert

Update from December 20, 9:25 p.m.:

In a revised draft resolution, the states have partially changed the planned new rules.

The upper limit of ten people who are vaccinated and recovered should now only apply indoors, but not outdoors.

In addition, spectators should again be completely prohibited at sports and cultural events.

In addition, dance events are to be banned from December 28th and indoor clubs and discos are to be closed.

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (l) and Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (both SPD) talk to each other when they arrive for the weekly cabinet meeting in the Chancellery and wear mouth and nose protection.

© Michael Sohn / dpa

Erstmeldung vom 20. Dezember: Berlin - Auch wenn sich der absteigende Trend der Neuinfektionen mit dem Coronavirus in Deutschland auch in der neuen Woche zunächst fortzusetzen scheint, warnen diverse Experten bereits jetzt von einer massiven fünften Welle der Pandemie. Auslöser für die düsteren Prognosen ist die Omikron-Variante des Virus, die aktuell in Europa auf dem Vormarsch ist. Auch Gesundheitsminister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) warnte deswegen noch am Freitag* vor nie dagewesenen Herausforderungen durch die hochansteckende Mutation.

Um eben einer solchen massiven fünften Welle in Deutschland vorwegzugreifen, trifft sich Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (SPD) am Dienstag mit den Ministerpräsidenten der Länder zu einem weiteren Corona-Gipfel. Die Ministerpräsidenten-Konferenz findet gerade einmal drei Tage vor Weihnachten statt und soll den Ländern das nötige Handwerkszeug zur Verfügung stellen, um die Infektionslage auch über die Feiertage hinein ins neue Jahr kontrollieren zu können.

Corona-Gipfel wegen Omikron: Scholz berät mit Ministerpräsidenten über neue Maßnahmen

Aus der im Voraus durchgesickerten Beschlussvorlage der MPK* geht hervor, dass Bund und Länder Verschärfungen der aktuellen Maßnahmen beschließen wollen. Von diesen sollen demnach auch geimpfte Personen betroffen sein. So planen die Vertreter von Bund und Ländern unter anderem erneute Kontaktbeschränkungen für die komplette Bevölkerung, die ab 28. Dezember in Kraft treten sollen. Sollte sich die MPK auf die Vorschläge einigen könne, dürften sich dann lediglich noch zehn geimpfte oder genesene Personen treffen.

The MPK also advises on this and other tightening on the recommendation of the government's new Corona Expert Council.

The committee newly introduced by the traffic light government spoke in a statement on Sunday of a "need for action" in the current situation for the coming days.

The applicable measures would therefore have to be continued "even more stringently" in the future in order to be able to control the impending fifth wave with the Omikron variant.

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet with the Prime Ministers of the federal states for the Corona summit on Tuesday.

© Michael Kappeler / dpa

Prime Minister's Conference: Tightening Expected - Which Rules Apply After Christmas?

Based on the recommendations of the Expert Council, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst, the chairman of the Prime Minister's Conference, have called the meeting for Tuesday.

In his statement on the MPK on Twitter, the latter demanded that “at no time should a careless look at the pandemic arise” and referred to the development of the number of infections in other EU countries.

After the corona summit of the federal and state governments, Chancellor Scholz will give a press conference on Tuesday afternoon in which he will explain the decisions of the MPK.

Then the citizens will definitely know what to expect between the years.

(