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Berlin — Everyone does what they want, no one does what they do, and everything participates, the German maxim goes.
This is also the same as the number of cases exceeded all previous peaks on the eve of March 20, or “Free Day,” as Omicron’s subvariant BA.2 shook the population. It also describes the pandemic politics of countries where almost all coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
“The situation is much worse than the mood,” Warned Health Minister Karl Lauterbach.
Social Democratic Party (SPD) Prime Ministers Lauterbach and Olaf Scholz have advocated maintaining more restrictions and compulsory vaccinations for all Germans over the age of 18. Along with the so-called traffic light coalition Greens, it is a partner of the Social Democratic Party.
“At the federal level, the SPD and Greens are the most cautious, while the FDP calls for the broadest pandemic mitigation, which leads to tensions in the signal coalition, which will lead to undecided or unreserved decisions. “Frank Brett Schneider, a political scientist at the University of Hohenheim, said.
“The government is shifting its growing share of pandemic responses to the state level and mitigating some of its own internal conflicts, but in return, regulations vary from state to state, confusing and frustrating citizens. That would be, “Bretschneider said.
Under the compromise, Germany’s 16 local governments will be able to implement stricter rules in high-incidence areas starting Sunday. This reveals a flaw in Germany’s decentralized government system, which has already caused a dispute over who is exactly responsible and has often delayed decision-making during pandemics. Other European countries, such as Denmark and Sweden, lifted the restrictions much sooner, convinced that their health system could comfortably cope with even the high rates of infection by Omicron.
Given the surge in infection rates across the country, it can be difficult to pinpoint these hotspots. “The whole country is a hotspot,” as one opposition lawmaker said Wednesday.
The latest 7-day incidence of COVID-19 infections reached a record 1,706 per 100,000 people in Germany on Friday, with a total of nearly 300,000 cases reported daily, making Germany the most affected in Europe. It is one of the receiving countries. According to the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases, the death toll increased by 226 to 126,646.
Fear of the future
Opponents of stricter measures, especially FDP politicians, point to the milder nature of Omicron and widespread vaccination as reasons to be wary.
“We have high infection rates, but hospital and intensive care unit occupancy is largely separated from these infection rates, so national measures can no longer be justified,” said the FDP’s health spokesperson. Woman Christine Aschenberg-Dugnus said.
Hospital statistics show that about 2,200 people with COVID are being treated in the intensive care unit. This is less than half the level when the delta wave peaked in December last year.
However, not all health professionals are convinced.
“Let’s be clear, this is a purely political decision,” said Ralph Rheinches, a professor of epidemiology and surveillance at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg.
Fixing the reopening at any date is epidemiologically unhealthy, he said. “From an epidemiological point of view, you certainly want to reduce the number first,” Reintjes said. “If the risk is low, we can gradually reduce the protection measures.”
Millions of stubborn anti-Baxers in Germany, whether Omicron or not, are “responsible for the fact that we are not making progress,” the Minister of Health said.
“It’s very dangerous … if Omicron evolves further and penetrates deep into the lungs,” Roterbach warned in Congress Thursday, an extreme aimed at protecting the healthcare system early in the pandemic. It evoked the memory of the blockage.
Experts agree that next year could be a bumpy road. The reduction in Omicron’s severity was a “lucky virological shot,” but Marco Binder, a virologist and group leader at the German Cancer Research Center, said, “I can’t bet that this story will continue. “.
“The next variant that pops up sooner or later can be completely different,” Binder said, adding that there was no way to predict if it was more severe than Omicron.
The fear of blockade has seen cautious politicians like Roterbach acquire an extraordinary ally, industry. On Tuesday, lobby group BDI warned of the relaxation of free day restrictions and approved the mandatory vaccine as the “most effective precaution” to prevent further waves of coronavirus.
The reversal of roles was pushed back by Tino Sorge, a health spokesman for the Conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Parliament, which is usually a natural partner of the industry.
“Even in the business world, opinions about mandatory vaccination are very divided,” he said. “Due to scientific and legal issues … the hurdles for general vaccination requirements are very high.”
The same was true in neighboring Austria, which suspended its general vaccine obligations earlier this month because of concerns that Omicron’s mildness disproportionate its coercion.
What people want
“In fact, the majority of Germans support compulsory vaccination, well over 60%,” said Emanuel Richter, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at RWTH Aachen University. “Of course, the question remains whether to support general vaccination or facility-based compulsory vaccination,” he added.
On Tuesday, facility-based compulsory vaccination was enacted when all staff in hospitals and other facilities with vulnerable people had to have evidence of complete COVID-19 vaccination.
Germany’s 75% vaccination rate is above the EU average, but there are still about 2 million unvaccinated people over the age of 60. This group has the highest risk of dying when infected. Given current infection rates, vulnerable unvaccinated older people are less likely to escape Omicron.
But it is a matter of enforcement that may prove too much for lawmakers to overcome with broader authority. Even in a watered-down state, it can be difficult to do, especially in healthcare departments where staffing constraints make it unrealistic.
Far-left prominent lawmaker Gregor Gysi said in parliament Thursday that local health officials lacked the ability to monitor and sanction potentially millions of disobedient Germans. rice field.
“Unenforceable laws must not be passed,” he said.
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