Timo Lenzen/ DER SPIEGEL
Dear reader,
After more than two years of crisis, the spread of Alpha, Delta, Omikron and Omikron BA.2, after debates about the effectiveness of different vaccines and the right level of protection, the pandemic is finally over.
At least that's what you got once again this week by following the news.
After 113 issues, Christian Drosten and Sandra Ciesek recorded the last episode of the “Coronavirus Update” for the time being.
And the biggest warnings in the pandemic, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), of all people, made a recommendation for a shortened isolation of infected people of five days.
A check by the health department would therefore no longer be carried out.
The new hotspot rule, for which Lauterbach is also responsible, will also apply from Sunday.
Apart from a few critical areas, such as clinics and care facilities, there will only be a mask requirement in public interiors in federal states that have declared themselves a risk area.
To be on the safe side, the RKI published a few “behavioural tips for spring” on Thursday.
In summary: Politicians have capitulated to the virus.
And maybe that even works.
The RKI sees the peak of the corona wave as "probably reached".
An extremely large number of people have recently become infected and are still getting infected.
The whole thing has its price, even if the illnesses are usually mild: Many companies are understaffed and the employees in the clinics are exhausted.
But there is a positive side effect: the mucosal immunity of the population, which reduces the risk of infection, is likely to be higher than ever before during the pandemic.
In addition, there is a quota of at least three quarters of those who were vaccinated twice.
The number of cases is falling, there are currently no new variants in sight and spring has begun.
Perhaps, quite possibly, at least this area of our lives will soon be fine again - or at least significantly better.
Maybe the next wave will follow soon or in autumn at the latest.
Isabella Eckerle, head of the Center for Novel Viral Diseases at the University Hospitals in Geneva, wrote on Twitter on Thursday: "I don't trust this virus and we've been negatively surprised often enough." She referred to possible "systemic consequences" including mild courses.
It is known, for example, that Covid-19 can damage various organs and thus increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases and possibly also diabetes.
"We shouldn't throw everything overboard too quickly, it could fall on our feet," Eckerle writes, adding: "And yes, I hope I'm wrong!"
"The Breakout Plan - How Germany Wants to Get Rid of Putin's Gas and Save Its Industry" is the title of the new SPIEGEL. The issue is now available digitally and from Saturday at the kiosk.
Pandemic - was there anything else?
Corona rules: Hotspot or not?
What the individual federal states are planning
The current corona rules are history at the weekend.
The federal states have decided which measures they will continue with.
The overview.
Interview with virologist Brinkmann: "We now need a new way of dealing with this virus"
Incidence records and the end of the mask requirement - how does that fit together?
The virologist Melanie Brinkmann on mistakes in two years of pandemic policy, the upcoming summer and her own role as a warning.
Corona hotspot regulation: "Responsibility ping-pong prevails in politics"
Is the mask requirement now everywhere?
The infection protection law expert Andrea Kießling explains what the new hotspot regulation means for the federal states - and complains about the contradictions in the corona policy.
Pandemic: Plans for mandatory corona vaccinations from the age of 18 have failed
Chancellor Scholz has campaigned for them, but they will not come: According to SPIEGEL information, there is no majority in the Bundestag for mandatory corona vaccinations from the age of 18.
Now the over-50s are the focus of the plans.
Covid-19 in global numbers
Confirmed cases: 488,586,569
Deaths: 6,144,489
Germany: 21,357,039 confirmed cases, 129,695 deaths
Sources: CSSE/Johns Hopkins University, as of April 1, 2022, 3:20 p.m.;
Robert Koch Institute, as of April 1, 2022, 3:23 a.m
News from research
Veteran study: Corona increases the risk of diabetes - even with mild courses
Anyone who falls ill with Covid-19 has a higher risk of developing diabetes the year after, shows a study with around 180,000 test persons.
The experts warn of a "legacy of chronic diseases".
Criticism of the federal authority: virologist criticizes the rapid test study by the Paul Ehrlich Institute
The Paul Ehrlich Institute has issued many antigen rapid tests with good results in the omicron detection.
Wrongly so, says the Munich virologist Oliver Keppler, the study is inadequate.
The main criticism is the sample.
Second attempt: Curevac starts clinical study with improved corona vaccine
The Tübingen-based company Curevac is developing a new corona vaccine that is intended to kill several virus variants at the same time.
Now the first subject has been vaccinated.
Study results should be available in the second half of the year.
Hamburg study: Corona can damage the liver
Covid-19 can attack many organs, including the liver.
Researchers have found that the virus significantly changes the cell programs and can lead to secondary diseases in the organ.
What else was important
Protection against Covid-19: Experts doubt the usefulness of the fourth vaccination for people over 60
For whom is the fourth vaccination useful - and for whom not necessarily?
While the health minister is promoting another injection, immunologists are reluctant to comment.
Corona and war are straining the health care system: "We don't know what to prepare for"
The health care system is at its limit because of the pandemic - now the Ukraine refugees also need medical care.
The Cologne health department head Harald Rau believes that this is only possible with a change of strategy.
Lockdown in Shanghai: Trapped in the metropolis of 26 million
China is sticking to its zero-Covid strategy.
After the recent corona outbreaks, the authorities in Shanghai have imposed a tough lockdown.
The restrictions also have an impact on Germany.
Have a nice weekend
Your Julia Merlot