Corona dispute with Lauterbach inevitable?

Lindner now calls for "personal responsibility"

Created: 07/24/2022, 21:42

By: Andreas Schmid

Have different ideas about future corona rules: Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) and Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD).

© Michael Kappeler/dpa-Pool/dpa

Minister of Health Lauterbach and head of panel doctors Gassen disagree on the Corona policy.

The FDP makes it clear: more personal responsibility is needed.

Berlin – There are currently two main camps in the debate about future corona measures.

Those who call for stricter measures for the fall.

And those for whom the measures discussed go too far.

Represented by Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and Head of Health Insurance Physicians Andreas Gassen.

Both health experts argue publicly about the right way to deal with the pandemic.

Gassen told the

on Friday that there were "currently no signs" of a corona wave in autumn.

Lauterbach sees a corona “catastrophe” approaching in the same period, while Gassen in turn criticizes “calls for renewed excessive protective measures up to and including a new lockdown”.

With these statements, the head of the Kassenärzte Lauterbach enrages – but at the same time he is in line with the FDP.

Corona rules in autumn: Lindner demands “as much personal responsibility as possible”

According to party leader Christian Lindner, personal responsibility is the order of the day.

"In the future, there must no longer be blanket, blanket restrictions on freedom for everyone," said the finance minister to the Funke newspapers.

"We need targeted measures that guarantee as much social life as possible and leave people as much personal responsibility as possible."

The FDP health expert Andrew Ullmann spoke in the

of a "smarter and individual handling of corona infections".

The medical possibilities are significantly better today than in previous years: "In addition, we may be in the final phase of the pandemic and already have much better tools than lockdowns or other coercive measures that some people crave." In a guest article for IPPEN.MEDIA Ullmann had already promised better preparation for the demands of pandemics at the turn of the year.

CDU health politician Tino Sorge agreed in the

article: "We finally need more pragmatism and personal responsibility." Lauterbach is considered an advocate of stricter corona measures.

On the sidelines of his US trip, he did not want to go into the exact rules, only said: "We need measures, that's clear."

Relaxed corona rules in summer - and then?

Some corona measures are currently suspended (e.g. 2G/3G rules) or weakened (e.g. the obligation to wear masks).

The legal basis for the current rules expires in September.

Discussions are currently underway between the health and justice ministries about the time thereafter.

The different positions of the SPD and FDP play a decisive role here.

Because: Lauterbach's Ministry of Health is led by the Social Democrats, the Minister of Justice is provided by the Liberals with Marco Buschmann.

Corona in Germany: the current situation

The last seven-day incidence was over 700 and is probably much higher in reality.

In the intensive care units of the clinics, the absolute number of patients is currently higher than at the same time last year (see figure).

Another important parameter is the so-called hospitalization rate.

It indicates how many people out of 100,000 have to be hospitalized within a week because of Covid-19.

Kind of like a seven-day incidence for the hospital.

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The current average is 7.6 (as of July 22).

For comparison: At the beginning of December 2021, the hospitalization rate was around 12, at Christmas 2020 it reached the previous record of almost 16.

Due to the omicron variant, it fell to 3.1 in the meantime (mid-January 2022).

Corona: Lauterbach and Gassen argue about quarantine rules

According to Gassen, the situation in the hospitals is still manageable.

He therefore sees the real problem not in the infections, but in the fact that those who have tested positive have to stay at home for several days even without symptoms.

"This creates staff shortages in the clinics and elsewhere." You have to go back to normality.

“Anyone who is sick stays at home.

Anyone who feels healthy goes to work.

That's how we deal with other infectious diseases like the flu." Karl Lauterbach countered and described the criticism on Sunday as "unhelpful".