Timo Lenzen / DER SPIEGEL
Dear readers,
For many Germans, little Denmark is a place of longing: deserted beaches, rough nature, cozy wooden houses and - not to forget - bright red sausages, called Pölser.
As of today, even more people are likely to look enviously to the far north: from this Friday, the corona restrictions there will be a thing of the past until further notice.
Large gatherings of people and unconditional events will be permitted in the future, clubs and football stadiums will be allowed to open as they used to, and the vaccination certificate, known as "Coronapas", no longer has to be shown anywhere. Even with increasing numbers, new restrictions should no longer automatically apply. The pandemic in Denmark is thus effectively over, as my colleague Jan Petter writes in this article.
The logic behind this decision is simple.
Denmark has an extraordinarily high vaccination rate, more than 80 percent of the population over the age of twelve have now been vaccinated twice.
The number of infections is not higher than in other countries, despite the previous easing (Danes were recently allowed to ride the train again without a mask and sit in cafes without being tested), on Wednesday there were 21 Covid-19 patients nationwide in an intensive care unit.
So if Corona only represents a risk comparable to the flu for the majority of the population due to the vaccinations, the pandemic will also be treated like flu.
Germany is still a long way from that.
In this country, just 61 percent of the population have been vaccinated twice, and it does not look as if the number will continue to rise anytime soon: The vaccination campaign is coming to a standstill, virologist Christian Drosten is already warning that we will not get through autumn without restrictions with these numbers .
A few weeks ago, sausages across the country were considered as a possible vaccination incentive.
Perhaps one should modify the concept and offer train tickets to Denmark plus Pölser - so that the Germans can see the freedoms that are possible with high vaccination rates.
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»16 years of Angela Merkel: Made it. The era of missed opportunities. How the office changed her - and she changed the country. Merkel and the men. The soft side of the power politician «is the title of the new SPIEGEL. You will receive the digital copy from now on and from Saturday at the kiosk.
Don't let up now
RKI weekly report: In the east, vaccination rates are particularly low
"We cannot go into autumn with this quota": Virologist Christian Drosten criticizes the lame corona vaccination campaign.
According to the RKI report, figures from Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia are particularly worrying.
Virologist Drosten warns of Corona autumn: "We absolutely have to work on the vaccination quota"
The current vaccination quota in Germany is far too low to get through the autumn without measures, warns Christian Drosten.
England, for example, is in a much better position.
Coronavirus: Why vaccination breakthroughs are not an argument against vaccination
Vaccinations cannot completely prevent infection.
But they hugely reduce the risk of dying from Covid-19.
This is true even though the number of vaccination breakthroughs is increasing.
An overview.
Corona policy: Statutory
health
insurance doctors call for Stiko recommendation for the third corona vaccination
Health Minister Spahn had already suggested so-called booster vaccinations weeks
ago
.
Doctors are now demanding a "fact-based decision" from the Stiko.
Vaccination center, family doctor, mobile teams: where you can get a third corona vaccination
For risk groups and people who were vaccinated with a vector
vaccine
at the beginning of the year, the third round is now.
How to get the vaccination, what applies to those who have recovered and what speaks against it: the overview.
Focus on school
Coronavirus: Where the high incidences at school start come from
The fourth wave of corona infections is rolling through Germany.
The number of cases is particularly high where school has started again - but these are apparently not due to face-to-face teaching.
Elementary School in California: How a Teacher Infected Half Her Class
Despite symptoms, an elementary school teacher in the US came to work thinking she had an allergy.
A report shows how the virus then spread in their class - depending on the seat.
Corona pandemic: why are so much expected of children?
School has already started again in many federal states, but there is still no effective corona protection for children.
The reason for this is as old as it is sad.
The 2G model for success?
Access only for those who have recovered or have been vaccinated: Party with a mask, but without any distance - is this how we save the clubs and pubs?
No distance, no plexiglass - but also no unvaccinated people: In Hamburg bars with the 2G concept are allowed to open.
Does the model save the celebration culture - or does it divide society?
A visit to the neighborhood.
New pandemic strategy: how useful is Hamburg's 2G rule?
Hamburg paves the way for 2G: bars and restaurants only for vaccinated and convalescent people.
What to think of the new strategy.
Fitness studio operator FitX on corona rules: "We cannot and do not want to take this business
risk
"
The fitness studio chain FitX lost 100,000 customers in the pandemic.
The managing director explains how he is now dealing with the different corona rules - and why 2G is not an option for him.
Covid-19 in worldwide numbers
Confirmed Cases: 219,126,141
Deaths: 4,542,726
Germany: 3,984,353 confirmed patients, 92,301 deaths
Sources: CSSE / Johns Hopkins University, as of September 3, 2021, 11:21 am;
Robert Koch Institute, as of September 3, 2021, 3.15 a.m.
Research news
Danger from zoonoses: where the next pandemic will come from - and how it can be prevented
Wildlife markets, deforestation, fattening farms - viruses get more opportunities to spread to humans.
A large science report shows the background - and explains what you can do about it.
New study from Israel:
those who have recovered
are better protected than
those who have been
vaccinated
Anyone who has been infected with the coronavirus has a very low risk of being infected again months later - despite the Delta variant.
What does this mean for the further course of the pandemic?
What else was important
WHO Early Warning Center: How Berlin is becoming the global headquarters for fighting pandemics
The world wants to better arm itself against the next pandemic.
For this purpose, huge amounts of data on animal health and suspicious diseases are analyzed with the help of artificial intelligence in a new early warning center.
New regulation of the Infection
Protection Act
: Federal Cabinet decides to move away from incidence as the most important Corona measured value Corona
policy should in future be based on the number of those who come to hospital with Corona.
The cabinet has decided to change the Infection Protection Act accordingly.
Other factors also become important.
Largest German vaccination center closes: For me, the needle in the world
Anyone who has been to the vaccination center can perhaps understand it: It is sad that it will soon no longer exist - and it makes you proud to have been there.
Hymn to an already historic place.
Have a nice weekend
Yours Michail Hengstenberg
