Corona summit: quarantine, contacts, schools - these decisions are due tomorrow

Created: 01/07/2022, 05:24 AM

From: Bedrettin Bölükbasi

The corona rules in Germany could soon be tightened again.

The federal and state governments want to discuss further measures in a conference of prime ministers.

Berlin - The corona situation in Germany worsens again after Christmas.

In connection with the new and, according to experts, much more contagious omicron mutant, both the number of infections and the incidence are rising rapidly.

According to the RKI, the total number of Omikron cases increased within one day by 20 percent to 42,556.

The incidence rose to 258.6 on Wednesday from 239.9 the previous day.

In the midst of the worrying situation, the federal and state governments want to discuss additional tightening of the rules in another Prime Minister's Conference (MPK) in order to curb the infection rate.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) announced that “there will definitely be new resolutions”.

Corona quarantine: the 14-day isolation can be shortened to protect critical infrastructure

One topic that is at the top of the list for deliberations in the federal-state summit is the shortening of quarantine times. Background: According to a recommendation by the RKI, contact persons of infected people should go into a 14-day quarantine, whereby no exceptions are made here for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered. The strict regulation would mean that hundreds of thousands of people could be in quarantine at the same time. The critical infrastructure such as hospitals, the police and the fire brigade are threatened with an extremely high loss of staff.

Among other things, according to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, it must be clarified to what extent the deadlines for people with booster vaccinations could be changed.

A question from

network as to whether the Federal Ministry of the Interior is already working on an amended ordinance was initially left unanswered by a spokesman for the ministry.

Corona quarantine: CSU boss Söder for shortening - MPK chairman Wüst, however, skeptical

Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) previously supported a reduction in quarantine regulations.

"With a rapidly growing spread, we cannot quarantine the whole country at the same time," said the CSU boss and added: "The basis must be a scientifically sound assessment." Above all, it is important to know whether it is milder Courses will result in a lower burden on the hospitals.

The chairman of the Prime Minister's Conference and North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) expressed skepticism about whether a differentiation should be made when shortening the quarantine period after employment in the so-called critical infrastructure.

"I'm not sure if this is the right way," said Wüst.

The Greens expert Janosch Dahmen said on the ARD: "I am very cautious when it comes to shortening the quarantine." He can imagine it with specialized technical professions.

"But now exempting the nurse who now takes care of heart attacks or strokes from quarantine rules, which may then infect other patients, opens too many doors for Omikron," emphasized Dahmen.

The immunologist Carsten Watzl told the

that it could “make perfect sense” for someone to test himself free after five or seven days - especially when it comes to critical infrastructure.

But this can only be done seriously if it is accompanied by negative PCR tests.

Bund-Länder summit: Further contact restrictions possible - Lauterbach for tightening the rules

In order to counteract the spread of the omicron mutation, tightening of contact restrictions is also possible.

The existing rules could be adjusted again at the federal-state summit.

The unvaccinated in particular are affected by contact restrictions.

The following applies here: You may only meet with your own household and a maximum of two other people from another household.

However, vaccinated and convalescent people cannot come together without restrictions.

Meetings are still allowed with a maximum of ten people.

Health Minister Lauterbach has meanwhile spoken out in favor of stricter contact restrictions.

"Unfortunately, tightening will be necessary to face the heavy wave that is coming our way," he told the

.

School in Corona times: Masks "an absolute must" says Lauterbach - KMK defends face-to-face teaching

The status of schools is also causing discussion in the course of the Omikron wave.

After the Christmas break, many federal states immediately started classroom teaching again despite the high number of cases.

But how will it continue for schools - face-to-face, homeschooling or alternating classes?

This topic could also be addressed in the Prime Minister's Conference between the federal and state governments.

Health Minister Lauterbach has not yet commented on a preferred teaching method.

However, he described the mask requirement in schools as an "absolute must".

Masks would work better with Omikron, as the viral load of the infected is lower with this mutation, said the minister.

Shortly before the MPK, the education ministers of the federal states also met on the subject of schools.

The President of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK), Schleswig-Holstein's School Minister Karin Prien (CDU) said that the conference agreed that classroom teaching was a priority.

"It is important that we close the schools not first, but last," said Prien.

Corona vaccination obligation: Lauterbach is working on a draft for "quick" introduction - Wüst increases pressure on Scholz

The introduction of a general compulsory vaccination could prove to be another point of the Corona summit.

In the run-up to the summit, Health Minister Lauterbach emphasized that vaccination must come quickly.

For this he is working on a draft that should "be unbureaucratic and preferably get by without a vaccination register".

The chairman of the Prime Minister's Conference and North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) joined the call for mandatory vaccination.

Before Olaf Scholz (SPD) became chancellor, he announced that vaccinations would be required in February, Wüst recently told ARD.

"The word must also apply if he is Chancellor," emphasized the CDU politician.

At the upcoming federal-state meeting on the corona crisis, he wanted to know from the federal government how it will proceed now.

"I would like to hear something about that," emphasized Wüst.

Additional costs due to the 2G rule: Giffey is pushing for additional costs to be compensated - "legitimate question"

In addition, Berlin's Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) wants to discuss at the federal-state meeting what options there are to offset additional costs for the control of the 2G rule. "We know that many areas, many industries that are now open, whether it is retail, catering or others, naturally have additional burdens due to the controls at 2G," said the MPK deputy chairwoman.

According to the 2G rule, only those who have been fully vaccinated or recovered have access to restaurants and many shops, for example.

The staff who control the entrance areas accordingly cause additional costs, said Giffey.

"That is a specific question that has been given to us from the Berlin economy, to what extent these costs, which arise for the increased control effort, can be taken into account in the bridging aids, in the fixed costs," said the SPD politician.

This is "a very legitimate question."