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Health Minister Lauterbach on 14.2.
in the Federal Council: »Difficult weeks«
Photo: via www.imago-images.de / imago images/Political-Moments
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach warns of a high number of deaths and massive restrictions on hospital treatments in the current corona wave with the highly contagious omicron variant.
"We are threatened with very difficult weeks in Germany," said the SPD politician of the "Bild am Sonntag".
»In view of the currently declining number of hospitals, especially in the intensive care units, we should not feel safe.«
The situation in the clinics will worsen again, he said. At the moment, it is mainly the younger people who are ill who have many contacts. If the elderly become infected, the number of hospital admissions will increase again. "Depending on how things develop, things can get tight not only in the intensive care units, but also in the normal wards. There is a risk of entire departments being closed,” said Lauterbach. »An epidemic means that hundreds of thousands will become seriously ill and we will again have to mourn many thousands of corona deaths.«
Meanwhile, the Robert Koch Institute reported another record high for the nationwide seven-day incidence on Sunday morning.
Accordingly, the value of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week was 515.7.
The previous day the value was 497.1.
The health authorities in Germany reported 52,504 new corona infections to the RKI within one day.
A week ago there were 36,552 infections.
Cancellation of school closures and lockdown
According to the German Hospital Society (DKG), hospitals are already feeling the first effects of the omicron wave through more patient admissions with Covid diseases. "We are already seeing this increase in the normal wards in some regions, for example in Bremen, Berlin, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein," said the President of the German Hospital Society, Gerald Gass, of the "Augsburger Allgemeine". "In contrast to previous waves, more patients will probably arrive in the normal wards in the coming weeks, since the probability of having a severe course is lower at Omicron," he explained.
According to Lauterbach, a decision will be made at the next conference of prime ministers on January 24 whether the measures currently in force are sufficient. However, he rejects school closures or a lockdown. He prefers a different approach: "For medical reasons, I believe in adding to the booster incentives. So that it makes an even bigger difference whether I have the third vaccination or not.«
The virologist Christian Drosten, on the other hand, sees a chance of becoming endemic in the milder omicron variant of the corona virus. When asked about this, the virologist told the “Tagesspiegel am Sonntag”: “There would be a chance now, provided there is broad immunity.” Drosten said that sooner or later everyone would have to be infected with Sars-Cov-2. "Yes, we have to get into this channel, there is no alternative," he said. “In the long run, we can’t get the immune protection of the entire population every few months with a booster vaccination.” The virus has to do that. “The virus has to spread, but on the basis of vaccination protection that is anchored in the general population” – otherwise “too many people would die”.
In the interview, Drosten also gave hope for a life like before the pandemic.
When asked whether "we will ever live like we did before the pandemic," the scientist from the Berlin Charité said: "Yes, absolutely.
I'm completely sure of that." Masks would have to be worn in certain situations for a few more years, which would be annoying.
But there will also be “a few benefits”: The virus has advanced medicine.
»MRNA technology is a huge breakthrough, also for cancer and for other infectious diseases, just think of influenza.«
mike/dpa
