Lauterbach: "No alarm" because of the Corona summer wave
Created: 06/17/2022, 11:12 am
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach recommends wearing masks indoors.
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
The contagious omicron variant is also causing a corona summer wave in Germany.
Health Minister Lauterbach is now commenting on this.
Berlin – Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach has called for caution in view of the renewed increase in the number of corona infections and is preparing a protection concept for autumn.
It is now "no alarm necessary," said the SPD politician in Berlin.
But it is not the case that "we can face this summer wave carelessly and without countermeasures".
Anyone who wants to protect themselves and others should voluntarily wear masks indoors.
In addition, fourth vaccinations should be handled “more generously”.
The Standing Vaccination Commission generally recommends this only from the age of 70.
Consultations with Bushman planned
Lauterbach announced that he and Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) are aiming for key points for future regulations in the Infection Protection Act before the summer break.
They could then be decided after the summer.
The current requirements expire on September 23.
For the time being, Lauterbach did not provide any further information about the instruments.
“Winter tires” should be prepared.
And it is clear that more is needed than is now being raised with "summer tires".
A vaccination campaign with various vaccines should therefore also be part of a seven-point plan for the fall.
The aim is to close vaccination gaps in a targeted manner, said Lauterbach.
He rejected a new attempt for general vaccination.
Lauterbach said he also assumes that citizen tests could continue to be used in the summer.
So far, the offer for such free quick tests has been regulated for everyone until the end of June.
In addition, a concept is to be developed to improve the use of medication in the case of patients.
To protect risk groups, more precise responsibilities for hygiene requirements in nursing homes are provided.
From September, data on free beds in hospitals can also be transmitted electronically to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on a daily basis.
The RKI should also support the federal states with concepts for tests and measures such as wearing a mask for schools and daycare centers.
It is important to avoid closures by all means, said Lauterbach.
Incidence falls easily
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) gave the nationwide seven-day incidence on Friday morning as 427.8 - however, the value is not very meaningful due to Corpus Christi.
Thursday was a public holiday in several populous federal states and authorities reported only very limited numbers of cases or not at all to the RKI.
The day before, the nationwide value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week was 480.0 (previous week: 318.7; previous month: 437.6).
Experts have been assuming for some time that there will be a large number of cases not recorded by the RKI - mainly because by far not all infected people have a PCR test done.
Only positive PCR tests count in the statistics.
In addition, late registrations or transmission problems can lead to a distortion of individual daily values.
The health authorities in Germany recently reported 28,118 new corona infections (previous week: 77,878) and 19 deaths (previous week: 106) to the RKI within one day - the holiday should also play a role here.
Comparisons of the data are also only possible to a limited extent due to the test behavior, late registrations or transmission problems.
dpa