Turnaround for free tests, new vaccination campaign: Lauterbach's seven-point plan for the Corona autumn
Created: 06/22/2022Updated: 06/22/2022 11:37 am
By: Stephanie Munk
Lauterbach expects a medium-heavy corona wave in autumn.
Before deliberations of the health ministers, he presents seven points.
Munich – Rising corona numbers, fourth vaccination, autumn wave – the health ministers of the federal states will discuss the corona virus for two days this Wednesday and Thursday (June 22/23).
Recently there has been an increase in the number of infections, and a new, larger wave is feared in autumn.
It was already known in advance what Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach was planning to counteract an imminent corona wave in autumn.
This emerges from the ministry's "Corona Autumn Strategy", which is available to the German Press Agency.
Corona strategy for the fall: Lauterbach believes in a “moderate” scenario
The strategy paper describes three possible corona scenarios for autumn: the most favorable, a “moderate” and the least favourable.
The medium-heavy scenario is the most likely, they say.
"This scenario could extend over a long period of time."
The ministry therefore assumes that there will be more corona infections and work accidents again in autumn and winter and that the intensive care units will be “moderately” burdened.
The situation could require “again nationwide measures to protect against transmission (masks and distance indoors)” and “measures to reduce contact” regionally.
Corona strategy for the fall: deaths and long-Covid remain challenges
The goals of the strategy state that the "central challenge" remains not to overload the intensive care units and to maintain the critical infrastructure staffed.
In addition, the alleviation of serious illnesses as well as Long Covid and the avoidance of deaths remained "essential".
According to the
editorial network Germany , the
following seven points
are in Lauterbach’s Corona plan for the fall:
1. Vaccination
: A new vaccination campaign is to be launched in September to close the vaccination gap in the population and to promote a fourth vaccination, especially among older people.
2. Corona tests:
When it comes to corona tests, Lauterbach is apparently making a change: if he previously wanted to continue offering free citizen tests for everyone, access is now to be severely restricted.
Only patients with symptoms, visitors to hospitals and nursing homes and selected groups of people such as small children, pregnant women and refugees from the Ukraine should get a free test.
People with a positive rapid test should continue to receive a free PCR test.
3. Corona treatment:
At the moment, effective drugs are used too late and too seldom, the paper says.
A council of experts is to develop a “treatment strategy”.
4. Nursing facilities
: A hygiene officer in nursing homes should become mandatory as in hospitals.
Visits should be possible, but with visiting and hygiene rules.
The protective measures vaccination, testing and masks should be "forced".
5. Corona data:
Hospitals should be legally obliged to report their corona data digitally on a daily basis, for example the number of corona sufferers and the number of free beds in the normal and intensive care units.
If that doesn't happen, there should be sanctions.
6. Schools and day-care centers
should remain open.
Children and young people should be particularly addressed in the vaccination campaign.
7. New version of the Infection Protection Act:
a further development should be available in good time before September 23, 2023, and recommendations from the Corona Expert Council and the Expert Commission should be taken into account.
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Corona strategy for the fall: countries are putting pressure on Lauterbach
Before the health ministers' conference, several federal states are putting pressure on Lauterbach to quickly create a legal basis for protective measures in the fall.
Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia have drawn up their own draft resolution for this.
The CDU/CSU parliamentary group has already made a catalog of demands with ten points for the traffic light coalition.
The letter is available on
Merkur.de
.
Accordingly, the four federal states are calling on the federal government to decide on “effective, legally manageable powers” before the summer break in order to be able to react to the increasing number of infections in autumn and winter.
The federal states should be able to take the following infection control measures:
Mask requirement
: Indoors, mouth and nose protection should be compulsory in autumn and winter
Compulsory testing
before entering hospitals, retirement and nursing homes
Upper limits
for meetings and contact restrictions without further definition
Corona strategy for the fall: "Mass testing without cause" is not effective
Furthermore, the federal states are calling for a federal vaccination campaign for the fourth corona vaccination, a stock of corona medicines and a central reporting system for all hospitals to better record the hospitalization rate.
"Unreasonable mass testing", on the other hand, is "not considered to be expedient for the coming autumn/winter".
Instead, the citizens should test themselves independently with self-tests, it is said.
smu/dpa
