Corona summit: For Lauterbach, easing would be "fatal" - the head of the expert council apparently makes a recommendation

Created: 01/23/2022, 07:05

By: Patrick Mayer

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach comments on the current corona situation at the federal press conference.

© Kay Nietfeld/dpa

Germany is facing the next Corona summit.

Despite Omicron, the federal-state group wants to discuss possible easing.

The vaccination requirement in the care sector is shaking.

News ticker for the MPK.

• Corona summit in Germany:

  On Monday (January 24), the country heads will meet for the next MPK.

• In the federal-state round with the traffic light federal government, possible easing despite the Omicron variant* is being discussed.

  (see first report)

• The envisaged compulsory vaccination in the care sector seems to be wobbling: there are doubts in several federal states because a blatant reduction in staff would appear to be the result.

  (see update of January 22, 5:05 p.m.)

  .

• This

  news ticker for the next Corona Summit (MPK)

  will be continuously updated.

Update from January 22, 5:05 p.m .:

In mid-March, the introduction of a job-related vaccination requirement for nurses and hospital staff is actually planned – but it is on the brink.

According to

several federal states insist on postponing the corona measure. Rather, the aim is first to wait for the introduction of the new inactivated vaccine from Novavax, according to the article - referring to an East German state chancellery. The reason: Too many nurses are skeptical and could no longer come to work because of the obligation to vaccinate - the new Novavax vaccine could find more acceptance than the previous ones based on mRNA, so the hopes. The first shipment of 1.75 million doses is expected to be available from February 21, but two shots could delay launch by several weeks.

The topic could also be on the agenda of the new federal-state meeting on the corona pandemic (Monday), it said. There were apparently crisis talks in this regard on Saturday, also with the participation of Health Minister Lauterbach. Meanwhile, Bavaria is also insisting on a postponement of compulsory vaccination because Prime Minister Markus Söder fears that there will be too many staff losses in the nursing sector.

Update from January 22, 1 p.m

.: The

claims to have learned an Omicron forecast from the head of the Federal Government’s Expert Council from an internal government consultation.

The CEO of the Berlin Charité, Prof. Heyo Kroemer, is said to have made a recommendation in the run-up to the Corona summit next week.

According to the tabloid, he spoke out in favor of neither relaxing the measures nor imposing new ones.

In addition, he apparently stated in his presentation at the internal conference call that the course of the omicron wave could not be predicted for the coming weeks.

Karl Lauterbach, on the other hand, had estimated the peak of new infections in mid-February.

lists his findings as

follows:

• The number of corona patients in intensive care units in Germany is falling.

  And those in the intensive care units are mostly still from the delta wave.

• Currently, younger people in particular would become infected with the more contagious omicron variant.

Update from January 22, 9 a.m.:

Before new federal and state consultations on the corona situation, Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach spoke out in favor of maintaining the existing measures at the moment. The SPD politician opposed tightening in the

– at the same time he warned: “But a relaxation would be fatal. We would pour oil on the fire and accelerate the wave.” In view of the rapidly increasing number of infections, Lauterbach proposes prioritizing the particularly precise PCR tests and concentrating contact tracing on certain professional groups.

The minister wants that in many cases in the future a positive rapid test will not be followed by a PCR test. "My proposal for the Prime Ministers' Conference provides that in future only employees of critical infrastructure can have a positive rapid test confirmed with a PCR test," he said. Everyone else who had a positive rapid test at home, for example, should only have this confirmed at the test center with a “professional rapid antigen test”.

Two days before the next top-level round of federal and state governments on the corona situation, the state health ministers and federal health minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) will again discuss how to proceed in the pandemic on Saturday.

According to the responsible Magdeburg Ministry of Social Affairs, the agenda for the video conference includes compulsory vaccination, dealing with the recovered status and general measures with regard to the Omicron variant.

Afterwards (12.00 p.m.), the chairwoman of the conference of health ministers, Saxony-Anhalt’s department head Petra Grimm-Benne (SPD), wants to make a statement.

On Monday, the heads of government of the federal states will meet with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) for new consultations.

Tourism industry calls for a uniform line before the Corona summit

Updated January 22nd. 8.45 a.m .:

Before the top-level consultations by the federal and state governments about Corona this Monday, the tourism industry is demanding a clear and uniform line for the industry. “We have to go back to clear, understandable and comprehensible rules. They are now the order of the day," said the President of the German Tourism Association (DTV), Reinhard Meyer, the German Press Agency.

At the last federal-state conference, the nationwide introduction of the 2G-Plus regulation in the catering industry was decided.

"However, this regulation is applied differently and the federal states regulate themselves whether a test is required for a visit to a restaurant after a booster vaccination," Meyer stated.

While Bavaria, for example, continues to only specify 2G in gastronomy, in Berlin, Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein or Saarland, for example, people who have been vaccinated twice with an additional booster are exempt from the obligation to test when visiting gastronomy.

There is also inconsistency when it comes to tourist overnight stays: while overnight stays in North Rhine-Westphalia fall under the 2G rule, in Rhineland-Palatinate guests and hosts are required to comply with the 2G Plus rule.

In Hesse, on the other hand, an incidence-dependent step regulation applies, Meyer complained.

"For the tourism industry, which is already having a hard time of the crisis, this confusion means uncertainty among guests and hosts." The countries had to agree on a uniform handle, he demanded.

Attack on the Corona summit: Söder confidante accuses Lauterbach of “refusal to work”.

Update from January 21, 8:04 p.m .:

Berlin’s governing mayor Franziska Giffey expects clear agreements at the prime minister’s conference on Monday about further steps in combating the corona pandemic.

"I see it that in the Prime Minister's Conference we will above all talk about how we can achieve focused contact tracing, which is particularly aimed at vulnerable groups," said Giffey on Friday.

“And how we manage to make it clearer in the test regime that the free testing of those who have recovered is done with the antigen rapid tests.” That is a very important point, said the SPD politician against the background of the significantly increased number of infections.

On Friday, the RKI reported 140,160 new infections and an incidence of 706.3 for Germany.

Meanwhile, an expert dampens the fact that according to Omikron the corona pandemic can be downgraded to an endemic:

Giffey also made a clear appeal to Karl Lauterbach.

"And I'm hoping that the Federal Minister of Health will now also clearly state in the test regulation which rapid antigen tests are so reliable that they are basically equivalent." The goal is to be able to maintain the test capacities and to use PCR tests there, where it is really needed, for example in care facilities and in hospitals, said Giffey.

"And to work with reliable quick tests in the other areas," she added.

Corona summit in Germany: Manuela Schwesig sees no easing at the MPK on Monday

Update from January 21, 5:15 p.m .:

 Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania – Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) has decided against relaxing the corona rules in the federal-state round next Monday. "I feel like I'm tired of the corona virus. As soon as relaxation is possible, we will do that too, ”explained the 47-year-old on Friday. The head of state from the north-east also warned that the corona pandemic was not over yet.

Among other things, Schwesig referred to the comparatively older population and the low vaccination rate in her state.

According to the vaccination dashboard of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the Federal Ministry of Health, 73.2 percent of people in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania have been vaccinated against the corona virus at least once.

This means that the relatively small federal state with around 1.6 million inhabitants only ranks tenth among the 16 federal states in Germany in these statistics.

Source: impfdashboard.de from RKI and the Federal Ministry of Health, as of January 21, 5:20 p.m

Corona summit in Germany: easing at MPK?

Winfried Kretschmann is undecided

Update from January 21, 4:45 p.m .:

Will the corona pandemic in Germany soon be relaxed despite the omicron wave?

Apparently, a prime minister hasn't really decided yet.

We are talking about Baden-Württemberg's Winfried Kretschmann (The Greens).

The 73-year-old Swabian said this Friday in Stuttgart: "Of course I can imagine them.

I don't know yet whether they will come." It is clear that the state government will have to set up "new rules" with the next Corona regulation at the beginning of February.

, the said cabinet from Stuttgart has to adapt the new Covid rules for the south-west by the

end of January.

This puts Kretschmann and his government under pressure.

Most recently, the Green politician had given the warning.

He stayed "on the path of caution," he explained, saying: "If I take it too easy, the virus will be happy." peak in mid-February.

Corona virus summit in Germany: Before the MPK, several country heads want to keep the corona rules

Update from January 21, 3:45 p.m .:

Before the federal and state consultations on the Corona situation on Monday, several Prime Ministers are in favor of maintaining the current containment measures. It doesn't make sense to tighten up measures, but they shouldn't be ended either, said Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU). Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) also rejected a softening, his Saxon colleague Michael Kretschmer (CDU) wants to listen to the particularly affected federal states.

Söder said in Munich on Friday that the key question was whether the health system was overburdened. This is not the case at the moment. With the omicron variant of the coronavirus, the courses of the infections are milder, and there are also advances in booster vaccinations and new vaccines. "We want to exercise caution, but with a sense of proportion," said Söder. Weil warned in the ARD “Morgenmagazin”: “We must not let the pandemic slip away, that’s why we need further precautionary measures.” Despite the high incidence of corona, a return to a “total lockdown” is not necessary from his point of view.

In the newspapers of the editorial network Germany (RND), Kretschmer pointed out that the health authorities in some federal states could no longer trace the contacts of corona infected people.

"The countries that are particularly affected must explain whether they need further protective measures and whether the Infection Protection Act needs to be changed again so that everyone has the necessary tools available to fight the pandemic." That will determine the debate on Monday.

Corona summit in Germany: CSU politician Dobrindt attacks Health Minister Lauterbach (SPD)

Update from January 21, 2:25 p.m .:

CSU boss Markus Söder is against tightening of political measures despite the sharp rise in the number of new corona infections in Germany. With a view to the prime ministers' conference on Monday, the Bavarian head of government told journalists after a CSU board meeting in Munich on Friday that it was currently neither appropriate nor sensible to tighten up measures. But it also makes no sense, as announced in Great Britain, to end the measures.

Söder said the key question is whether the healthcare system is overburdened. This is not the case at the moment. At Omikron, the courses of the infections are milder, and there are also advances in booster vaccinations and new vaccines. "We want to exercise caution, but with a sense of proportion," said Söder. He sharply criticized the traffic light coalition for its actions on compulsory vaccination. It was "very unfortunate" that Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) was in favor of compulsory vaccination, but his federal government was not doing anything to implement it. "You can't declare yourself neutral on a topic," said Söder. The different motions planned by the traffic light parties for the Bundestag debate could lead to random majorities.

According to participants in the meeting, CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt said that instead of a clear stance by the federal government, there were only “private opinions” from Scholz and Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD).

As a person, Lauterbach is in favor of compulsory vaccination, but as a minister he has no opinion - "it's simply a refusal to work".

CSU leadership: Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder, Alexander Dobrindt and Secretary General Markus Blume (from right).

(Archive image) © Sven Hoppe/dpa

Corona rules in front of MPK on the test bench: CSU wants to change course - Lauterbach indicates major change

Update from January 21, 12:30 p.m .:

The federal government wants to prepare Germany organizationally for the rapid growth of the omicron wave with expected hundreds of thousands of infected people per day. In addition to prioritizing the particularly safe PCR tests, a further concentration of contact tracing on important social areas is being considered, as a spokesman for Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) said on Friday in Berlin with a view to the upcoming Prime Ministers' Conference. The federal and state governments want to discuss further steps in the fight against the corona pandemic this Monday.

"We have to reckon with these increasing numbers of infections and have to adapt to them organizationally," said the spokesman. Changed quarantine and test rules ensure that public life can still take place safely, especially in critical infrastructure. These include the health care system, utilities and security authorities. A "bottleneck in the PCR tests, at least for the critical infrastructure" should be prevented. "And that's probably why we're concentrating contact tracing on important areas, as is already happening today," said the spokesman. 

The deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann did not comment on the question of whether the prime ministers' conference on Monday would be preceded by deliberations by the federal government's Corona Expert Council. The spokesman for the health department confirmed the assessment that several hundred thousand new corona infections per day could be expected in mid-February. The assessment of the situation and the conclusions are the subject of the federal-state meeting.

Update from January 21, 10:25 a.m .:

Federal Minister of Education Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) does not expect any new restrictions for schools from the federal-state group on Monday. "There is great agreement to keep the schools open," she told the

on Friday. Everything must be done for this, as schoolchildren suffered greatly from school closures in the first waves of the pandemic.

If they are temporarily unable to attend classes due to quarantine, "schools must be able to provide them with a digital offer so that they can continue to attend classes," Stark-Watzinger continued. The goal remains to “keep the curve of new infections as flat as possible,” emphasized the minister. In the event of staff shortages as a result of the Omicron wave, there are precautions in the countries. “We need contingency planning in every school. If support from the federal government is required, we are ready to provide it.”

The corona pandemic had a negative impact on school leaving certificates, said Stark-Watzinger.

But she also stated: "Even before Corona, Germany should have done more to ensure its competitiveness and to counteract the blatant shortage of skilled workers." The new federal government is now taking countermeasures and must ensure "that learning deficits can be caught up quickly".

In addition, the transition from school to work must be strengthened.

“In addition, the immigration of skilled workers remains of the utmost importance.

It must be simplified, not only in the academic field," said the FDP politician.

Before the Corona summit: Before the federal-state meetings, Weil speaks out against loosening – and tightening

Update from January 21, 10 a.m

.: Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil spoke out against easing the corona pandemic before new top-level consultations by the federal and state governments – but also against tightening. The massively increasing incidences "already played a role, but we have to rethink a bit compared to the previous waves of infection," said the SPD politician on Friday in the ARD "Morgenmagazin". The number of infections is high, but the clinics are less burdened. "We're dealing with a new opponent, so you have to adjust your strategy accordingly."

The prime ministers of the federal states want to discuss further measures in the pandemic with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Monday. Weil said: "We must not let the pandemic slip away." At the same time, in view of the changed situation, he spoke out against a "total lockdown". Above all, the hospitalization and the situation in the intensive care units are "not yet causing him to ponder", even if the number of infections is increasing from day to day.

Because warned not to fool yourself.

According to the Omicron variant, the virus will not be out of the world: "We will have to deal with new virus forms." Only a high vaccination rate in society as a whole offers serious protection: "We will not make it.” The vaccination dynamics have decreased in the new year.

"We're making a mistake there," he said.

He spoke out clearly against the so-called contamination, which was cynical and meant that many people would end up in intensive care units and die.

Corona rules on the Omikron test bench: CSU makes wind in front of MPK - and wants to change course

First report from January 21, 8 a.m.:

Berlin – On Monday, January 24th, they will come together again: the federal and state governments to discuss the corona situation.

With a view to the Omicron variant, which is currently causing the numbers to shoot up, the CSU* is pushing for a reassessment of the corona measures.

“It is true that the fundamentals are changing with Omikron.

We need an omicron check for the Corona* management in Germany," said CSU General Secretary Markus

.

"The upcoming Prime Ministers' Conference can be an important milestone to talk about these things."

Before the Corona summit, Söder spoke up: "We have to react appropriately"

The very contagious Sars-CoV-2 variant Omikron has now established itself in Germany.

It causes a sharp increase in the number of new infections, but tends to be associated with milder courses than the delta variant.

Countries like Spain are therefore considering changing the corona strategy, also because the number of corona intensive care patients is not increasing as it is at Delta.

There are also advocates for this in Germany.

Politicians like the Green health expert Janosch Dahmen warn that Omikron is milder, but not harmless.

Experts also often refer to the comparatively high number of unvaccinated people in Germany and urge caution.

"We have to react appropriately," emphasized CSU boss Markus Söder* on Thursday evening in the ZDF program "maybrit illner".

But: “I think we have a new situation now.

And part of a smart policy is not simply to react in a stubborn or ideological way, or even to be personally motivated, but always to put the well-being of the country and the people in the foreground.”

Corona in Germany: The federal and state governments will discuss the situation on Monday

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach * expects a stress test for the hospitals in mid or late February.

According to the SPD politician, Germany will then be confronted with several hundred thousand newly infected people every day.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), on the other hand, expects that the maximum deflection of the omicron wave in Germany cannot be precisely measured by reporting data.

"However, the magnitude and the decisive trends in the epidemiological development are reliably displayed," wrote the RKI in its Corona weekly report published on Thursday evening.

The background to the temporarily incomplete recording of infected people is, for example, limited test capacities and human resources due to the high number of cases, it was said.

MPK on Corona: Kretschmer (CDU) calls for a mandatory vaccination proposal from the traffic light government

Since the federal states have already pushed for progress in terms of compulsory vaccination at the past Corona summits, it can be assumed that it will be on the agenda again this time. In the coming week, the Bundestag wants to deal with compulsory vaccination in a first debate.

In the meantime, Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer has called for a proposal from the federal government. "Introducing compulsory vaccination is a task for the coalition in Berlin," said the CDU* politician to the

. Therefore, the government must now vigorously advance with a proposal, promote its proposal and take others with it. “It cannot be that with this pandemic all unpleasant issues are weighted away to the federal states, the RKI or the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut. That's not how it works."

Kretschmer emphasized that politicians need leadership, especially when it comes to difficult issues.

The traffic light coalition should therefore quickly inform the population whether they are serious about introducing compulsory vaccination and whether they have a majority for it.