“We will actually get such a high number of cases”: Lauterbach announces comprehensive changes to PCR tests

Created: 01/21/2022 05:14

By: Franziska Konrad

The corona numbers in Germany continue to skyrocket.

According to Health Minister Lauterbach, however, the peak in the incidence is far from being reached.

The news ticker.

• The corona incidence in Germany has reached a new record.

• Minister of Health Lauterbach expects infections to peak by mid-February (see initial report).

• Lauterbach is also committed to prioritizing the tight PCR tests and receives support (see updates from January 20, 9:23 a.m. and 2:35 p.m.).

• This news ticker is continuously updated.

Update from January 20, 3:40 p.m.:

Lauterbach’s proposal for prioritizing PCR tests received

Support from the President of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt.

In younger people, it would be sufficient to determine a corona infection with a quick test, he said on Deutschlandfunk.

In his view, confirmation with a PCR test is no longer necessary.

The Greens health expert Janosch Dahmen demanded that the PCR test capacities “should be used first to secure the critical infrastructure and to detect infections in symptomatic people”.

He explicitly

included schools in an interview with the

Corona vaccination obligation: Lauterbach continues to call for the introduction

The latest development is also fueling the debate about general corona vaccination. Lauterbach reiterated his position on ZDF that this had to be introduced: "In my opinion, we can't get out of the mess without compulsory vaccination," he said. Doctor President Reinhardt also spoke out in the newspapers of the

again in favor of general vaccination. This could be justified in a few weeks if no significantly higher vaccination rate was then achieved in Germany.

However, there are also doubts about compulsory vaccination, precisely because of Omikron.

"For the omicron wave, the obligation to vaccinate is probably too late," said the Hamburg virologist Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit the

.

After the omicron wave with a large number of infections, “the question of whether such a duty makes sense” arose.

In the coming week, the Bundestag will discuss possible vaccination requirements for the first time.

SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich said on Thursday before the start of a closed meeting of his parliamentary group that "we will quickly present the first key points" after the debate next Wednesday.

He assumes that there will be discussions about compulsory vaccination "which will apply from a certain age limit".

Further information campaigns and low-threshold vaccination offers are also necessary, stressed Mützenich.

By autumn, the population should be “so strong basic immunization” that the country can deal with the pandemic “more calmly” than in 2020 and 2021.

Lauterbach wants to prioritize PCR tests

Update from January 20, 9:23 a.m .:

In view of the shortage of PCR tests, Lauterbach wants to give preference to employees in sensitive health facilities in the laboratory evaluation.

"We will actually get such a high number of cases that we have to distribute the PCR, have to prioritize it, I will present a proposal at the weekend on how that should happen," Lauterbach announced on Wednesday evening.

According to Lauterbach, the draft resolution should be decided on Monday during renewed consultations between the federal and state governments.

Well over 100,000 new infections: And Lauterbach expects many more soon – “highest probability”

First report from January 20, 2022:

Berlin – The current corona trend is continuing in Germany: the number of infections is increasing – and breaking new records every day.

The incidence* in the Federal Republic is 638.8 on Thursday morning, January 20 (previous day:

584.4).

The RKI also reports over 133,000 infections on Thursday - both new highs.

Karl Lauterbach expects that this development will not change too quickly.

By mid-February, the Minister of Health is forecasting several hundred thousand new infections* a day.

Corona: Lauterbach expects several hundred thousand new infections a day

With a view to realistic scenarios, it can be assumed “that the wave will peak around mid-February and that we will then have to expect several hundred thousand cases a day,” said the SPD politician on Wednesday evening in the ZDF program “Markus Lanz”. . Although it is not certain that the scenarios will come about, "they have the greatest probability".

There are countries that could cope with such numbers with a view to the intensive care units - however, the situation in Germany is different.

Lauterbach warns: "Since we have a high number of unvaccinated among the elderly in Germany, things can turn out very differently here than in Italy, France or England, for example".

A concrete example: In England, for example, the number of unvaccinated people in the over-50s group is one to two percent.

"These are values ​​that we cannot reach."

Corona in Germany: According to Lauterbach, the hospitalization rate is “irrelevant snapshot”

So far, however, the wave triggered by the Omicron virus variant has not been reflected in the intensive care units.

According to the medical association Divi, the number of corona patients there has fallen from around 5,000 to 2,664 since the first half of December.

At the moment, comparatively few older people who are particularly susceptible to severe courses are infected.

Lauterbach said of the falling hospitalization rate that this was an "irrelevant snapshot" because the wave that is currently running in England and France is yet to come in Germany.

"I would expect the right load in the intensive care units in mid or late February, that's still a month away and then I hope it will still look good," said Lauterbach.

"That's going to be the endurance test, not what we're seeing now.

You can read more news about the corona pandemic here.