Corona: After isolation retreat - Lauterbach defends action

Created: 04/07/2022, 07:08

By: Martina Lippl

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is defending his decision after withdrawing from the planned corona isolation rules.

© Oliver Ziebe/dpa

The corona numbers continue to go down.

Lauterbach backs down on the “voluntary obligation to isolate” and defends his step.

All information in the news ticker.

• Corona situation

  in Germany:

  Incidence

  falls again

  1251.3

  (update from April 7, 6.10 a.m.)

  .

• Lauterbach collects the "voluntary isolation obligation" again

  (update from April 6, 7:08 a.m.)

  .

  The minister defends his step

  (see update April 6, 8:58 p.m.).

• The EU health authorities currently do not consider the fourth corona vaccination to be necessary for all citizens

  (see update from April 6, 5:56 p.m.).

• This news ticker on the corona pandemic* is continuously updated.

Update from April 7, 6:10 a.m

.: The nationwide 7-day incidence is falling again.

The value is now 1251.3 (previous day: 1322.2), the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Thursday morning.

201,729 new corona infections and 328 deaths were recorded within one day.

However, the corona numbers only give an incomplete view of the infection process.

Health authorities can no longer keep up with reporting.

According to experts, not every infection is detected with a PCR test.

Only these are included in the statistics.

Corona case numbers on Thursday (April 7, 2022): RKI reports 328 deaths

Corona: After isolation retreat - Lauterbach defends action

Update from April 6, 8:58 p.m .:

Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach defends his surprising retreat from the planned corona isolation rules.

"I believe that trust is gained when you take back a rule that you can't really stand by," said the SPD politician on Wednesday evening on the "ARD extra" show.

On Tuesday (April 5) on Markus Lanz's ZDF talk show, he announced that he would immediately collect a planned change in the isolation of infected people to a voluntary basis from May.

Because he had not chosen an official framework, Lauterbach received harsh criticism.

"I used the talk show because it just came up," said the politician.

In addition, the Minister of Health still believes in compulsory vaccination.

He thinks that the compromise proposal by the traffic light parties for compulsory vaccination will get a majority in the Bundestag on Thursday.

If the compulsory vaccination he supports fails, he “of course does not” think about resigning.

Update from April 6, 5:56 p.m.:

Discussions about a fourth corona vaccination for all citizens are off the table for the time being.

The EU medicines agency EMA currently does not consider the second booster to be necessary for most age groups.

It is currently too early for a general recommendation, the EMA announced on Wednesday in Amsterdam together with the EU health authority ECDC.

However, a fourth dose could make sense for people aged 80 and over, given the higher risk of severe Covid disease in this age group.

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach recently campaigned in Brussels for a fourth corona vaccination for everyone over 60 years of age.

The EU states declared that they wanted to proceed uniformly on this issue.

They had waited for the recommendation of their health authorities to make the decision.

Karl Lauterbach does not want any “voluntary isolation” of corona sufferers after all

Update from April 6, 7:08 a.m

.: Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) does not want any “voluntary isolation” of corona infected people after all.

Lauterbach announced his withdrawal on the ZDF talk show “Markus Lanz” late Tuesday evening.

It would have made sense to relieve the health authorities.

However, the signal that an infected person decides whether to isolate himself is “so negative, so devastating” that there must be a change at this point.

The “symbolic damage” that Corona is not dangerous is so devastating that you cannot do this isolation order.

Corona in Germany - according to the RKI, the incidence continues to fall

Update from April 6, 6.48 a.m

.: The nationwide incidence is 1322.2 on Wednesday morning (previous day: 1394.0).

This means that the value is almost back to the previous month's level (1231.1).

Within one day, 214,985 new corona infections and 340 deaths were reported.

This emerges from the data from the Covid 19 dashboard of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

Corona case numbers on Wednesday (April 6, 2022): RKI reports 340 deaths

Lauterbach: "90 percent of the Covid dead over 60 years old"

Update from April 5, 8:31 p.m .:

Two parliamentary groups in the Bundestag have agreed on a compromise regarding a possible corona vaccination

.

One of the two groups comprises a total of 237 MPs, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (both SPD).

Another 45 members of the Bundestag belong to a second group that advocates compulsory vaccination.

Lauterbach commented on the compromise proposal on Tuesday evening on Twitter: "The compromise proposal has a high probability of

enforcing compulsory vaccination on Thursday

Since 90 percent of the Covid deaths are over 60 years old, it will have a very strong effect in the autumn.”

Corona vaccination from the age of 60: groups of MPs agree on a compromise

Update from April 5, 7:03 p.m .:

The debate about general corona vaccination is in full swing.

Two groups of deputies in the Bundestag support this in principle.

Now the two groups have now agreed on a common compromise.

In a statement that was distributed on Tuesday, it said that "a vaccination certificate should be mandatory for all people over the age of 60, i.e. the particularly vulnerable population group".

One of the two parliamentary groups is that around SPD parliamentary group leader Dirk Wiese and the Greens health expert Janosch Dahmen.

Initially, she wanted to enforce compulsory vaccination from the age of 18.

On Monday (April 4th), the group published a compromise proposal for compulsory corona vaccination from the age of 50 – which included an option to extend this to all adults if necessary.

A second group of deputies led by FDP health politician Andrew Ullmann advocated general advice and compulsory vaccination from the age of 50. 

According to the compromise draft, this compulsory vaccination for everyone over the age of 60 must be fulfilled from October.

However, it can be suspended by a Bundestag resolution in June if the vaccination rate has been increased sufficiently by then.

In the fall, given the prevailing findings and potential virus variants, the Bundestag should also decide “whether the activation of the obligation to provide proof of vaccination for age groups from 18 years of age should also take effect”.

Corona in Germany: Lauterbach defends the elimination of the obligation to isolate infected people

Update from April 5, 4:26 p.m .:

The easing of the quarantine regulations for corona infected people decided by the federal and state governments has been heavily criticized.

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has now defended the end of officially ordered isolation requirements.

"That has nothing to do with the question of whether we open more or less," he said on Tuesday in Berlin.

Rather, it is about “a technical improvement that will give the health authorities more opportunities to cope with the pandemic”.

According to the Minister of Health, the current high number of cases means that isolation orders are very often either incomplete or too late.

With the new regulation from May 1st, Lauterbach and his country colleagues want to concentrate the work of the offices on the areas that are important now.

According to Lauterbach, by joining forces, it should be possible to ensure at least the particularly important isolation of infected employees in the healthcare system.

This protects the most vulnerable groups.

"This is all about restructuring the totally overburdened health authorities so that they can do the work that is most important now," Lauterbach said.

The preventive work to combat the pandemic has recently fallen by the wayside due to the large number of quarantine notifications in many offices.

This also includes the identification of major corona outbreaks or chains of infection.

Corona in Germany: Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania cancels 3G rule for gastronomy

Update from April 5, 1:10 p.m .:

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania deletes the 3G rule in gastronomy before Easter.

From April 14 (Maundy Thursday) restaurants are open to everyone.

However, the 3G rule should continue to apply to tourism.

Unvaccinated vacationers still have to present a negative corona test on arrival, said Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) on Tuesday in Schwerin after a cabinet meeting.

In view of the upcoming Easter, the hospitality industry in the holiday country had put pressure on to do without 3G (vaccinated, recovered, tested).

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had declared itself a corona hotspot alongside Hamburg in order to extend the corona protection measures.

In view of the falling numbers in MV, the 3G rule in MV could be completely canceled in a week, Schwesig said, according to NDR.

Then a visit to the cinema or to the hairdresser would be possible again without proof.

Corona in Germany: epidemiologist warns - virus will continue to spread without the obligation to isolate

Update from April 5, 1:03 p.m

.: The epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb from the Leibnitz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology criticizes the elimination of the obligation to isolate from May.

"If a person shows symptoms, they should sit out the corona infection at home instead of infecting more people," he told the editorial network Germany (RND).

The Omikron variant in particular will be transferred very quickly.

Zeeb therefore advocated maintaining a five-day isolation requirement.

"We have to assume that the circulating virus will continue to spread due to the elimination of the obligation to isolate," he warned.

In autumn and winter, there is also an increased risk “that the corona virus will mutate”.

On the other hand, he no longer considers quarantine for contact persons to be necessary.

Corona wave in Germany is ebbing: Incidence falls below 1400 – quarantine rules should change completely

First report from April 5, 7.15 a.m .:

Berlin – The downward trend in the nationwide 7-day incidence continues.

The value on Tuesday morning is 1394.0 (previous day: 1424.6).

A week ago, the nationwide incidence was 1703.3 (previous month: 1220.8).

Within one day, 180,397 new corona infections were reported to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) (previous week: 237,352).

This emerges from the data from the RKI dashboard on Tuesday morning.

However, a comparison of daily values ​​is becoming increasingly difficult.

There are increasing numbers of late reports from various federal states and many corona infections are currently not recorded at all.

In addition, 316 deaths have been recorded.

Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, 130,368 people have died with or from corona.

Corona in Germany: This is the situation in the hospitals

The number of corona-infected patients who came to clinics per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days was 6.61 according to the RKI on Monday (Sunday: 6.97).

Here, too, there are days with incomplete reports.

The value also includes many people with a positive corona test who have another main illness.

2,202 Covid 19 patients are currently being treated in the intensive care units in Germany, 847 of whom are artificially ventilated.

This emerges from the data from the DIVI intensive care register on Tuesday (as of 6:05 a.m.).

Lauterbach: "The turning point seems to have been reached"

Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) was cautiously optimistic about the current status of the pandemic on Monday.

"The turning point seems to have been reached," he said.

"The number of cases is declining." However, the country is still "not in a situation where you can give the all-clear".

At the same time, Lauterbach announced a change in strategy for the corona quarantine on May 1st.

Corona case numbers on Tuesday (April 5, 2022): RKI reports 316 deaths

Corona in Germany: These are the new quarantine rules from May 1, 2022

From May 1st, people infected with corona will

.

The new quarantine and isolation rules should be “voluntary” from this date, said Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) on Monday in Berlin after consultations with his colleagues from the federal states.

Employees in the medical field are an exception - for everyone else there is only "the urgent recommendation" to go into self-isolation in the event of an infection and to test free after five days.

• Medical workers

  : You can test yourself free after five days of isolation.

• Infected with symptoms and without symptoms:

  The new quarantine and isolation rules should be based on “voluntary”.

"The current regulation works, but it is not necessary in the long term," said Lauterbach.

From May 1st, a procedure should take effect "that is largely based on a voluntary basis".

The new regulation applies equally to infected people with symptoms and those without symptoms.

The new regulation must be implemented by the federal states.

Here you will find our news ticker Corona in Germany (until April 4th).