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A corona test center in Cologne
Photo: Christoph Hardt / Future Image / imago images
The still young year begins with new increasing numbers of infections in Germany, Omikron is spreading.
Against this background, the federal and state governments want to discuss their further corona strategy on January 7th - calls for a reduction in quarantine times are now increasing.
The Association of Towns and Municipalities promoted a waiver of quarantine for infected boosted people without symptoms of disease who work in central areas. The Robert Koch Institute wants to make a recommendation in the course of the week before the federal and state governments discuss it on Friday. The Ministry of Health also promised more precise infection numbers for the federal-state consultations, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) was already open to the shorter quarantine regulations.
The federal government and the states should agree on appropriate procedures, as it is unclear how the sick leave will develop in the coming weeks, said the chief executive of the association of cities and municipalities, Gerd Landsberg, on the question of the quarantine duration.
At the moment, however, the situation is "not dramatic," and all tasks can still be fulfilled.
"The vaccination must come"
The North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) named the goal of maintaining the critical infrastructure.
In the ARD »Morgenmagazin« he named the areas of electricity, water, health, fire brigade and police.
The quarantine time should be checked, especially for those who have been vaccinated three times.
Wüst also called for a roadmap to be finally drawn up in the debate on compulsory vaccination for everyone.
"The vaccination must come," said Wüst.
The Greens health expert Janosch Dahmen opposed a general shortening of the quarantine time for people with booster vaccinations.
It must be prevented that an infected nurse becomes a risk for stroke or heart attack patients, he said in the program "Frühstart" from RTL / ntv.
However, shortened quarantine times for vaccinated and boosted people who work in the critical infrastructure could be considered, said Dahmen.
He cited waterworks as an example, which require highly specialized skills but have few contacts.
Expert Council meets on Tuesday
A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Health said that the quarantine rules may require shorter times, especially in the event that load limits are reached.
The authorities would have to prepare for this case.
The recommendations of the RKI can be expected in the course of this week.
The institute will also present reliable data on the current level of infection in Germany after the holidays in the coming days.
The Federal Government's Expert Council will hold a video conference on Tuesday to discuss current questions about the corona pandemic.
Whether the committee will issue an opinion on the quarantine is still open, as government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said.
Health Minister Lauterbach said on Sunday evening that he was thinking about shortened quarantine and isolation times because of the Omikron variant.
The countries that regulate the quarantine via national ordinances are legally responsible.
Based on the RKI recommendation, the heads of the federal and state governments are expected to take a decision on Friday.
mrc / AFP