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VOCABULARY

Should Germany opt for a coronavirus ‘traffic light warning’ system?

Bavarian state premier Markus Söder has proposed a nationwide coronavirus 'traffic light system' that will help authorities keep on top of the situation, and show people which areas are 'safe'.

Published: 28 September 2020 09:25 CEST
Updated: 28 September 2020 11:34 CEST
Should Germany opt for a coronavirus 'traffic light warning' system?
A green traffic light outside the Berlin Charité hospital. Photo: DPA

“We now need a binding, proportionate and reliable set of rules for the winter,” Söder told German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung at the weekend.

The core of this, he said, must be the introduction of a traffic light warning system for all federal states, as well as guidelines on what measures should be taken if the number of infected people exceeds certain limits.

According to Söder's proposal, the traffic light would switch to amber if there were 35 or more infected people per 100,000 citizens in a district within seven days.

In order to prevent further spread of the virus, preventive tests could then be carried out in risk groups, spectators would no longer be allowed to attend sporting events and the compulsory wearing of masks in schools could be extended to cover lessons from fifth grade upwards.

If the number of infected people rises to 50, triggering a 'red light', the number of participants allowed at private events, among other things, should be reduced to a quarter of the number that had been in force until then, Söder, of the centre-right Christian Social Union (CSU), proposed.

Some places in Germany, such as Berlin, already have a localised traffic light system.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about new coronavirus measures in Munich and Bavaria

The Berlin Senate introduced it to keep checks on the coronavirus epidemic in the Hauptstadt. One of the three indicators of the system is based on the R number, which shows how many people a person with Covid-19 goes on to infect on average.

The other two indicators are based on the occupancy rate of intensive care beds and the number of new infections.

However, centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) health expert Karl Lauterbach said he wasn't in favour of the traffic light system nationwide.

During an online broadcast by German newspaper Bild, Lauterbach said the system would would send out the wrong signals. It would create a feeling of “false security”, he said. “The whole symbol of a traffic light with green, amber and red does not fit in with the times,” Lauterbach added.

Highest number of cases since April

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control on Monday said the number of people to contract coronavirus within the last 24 hours was 1,192, reported Welt.

A total of 285,332 people in total have been infected in Germany since the pandemic began, official RKI figures show. There have been 9,460 deaths.

On Sundays and Mondays, cases are usually lower than usual because not all health authorities report data to the RKI at the weekend.  On Saturday, 2,507 new coronavirus infections were reported, the highest figure since April.

READ ALSO: 'Panemic is in full swing now': Germany sees spike in number of coronavirus tests

Vocabulary

Nationwide corona traffic light – (die) bundesweite Corona-Ampel

Set of rules or regulations – (das) Regelwerk

Sports events – (die) Sportveranstaltungen

False security – (die) falsche Sicherheit

We're aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.

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HEALTH

Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

It’s back again: amid sinking temperatures, the incidence of Covid-19 has been slowly rising in Germany. But is this enough to merit worrying about the virus?

Published: 20 September 2023 12:05 CEST
Updated: 20 September 2023 22:22 CEST
Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

More people donning face masks in supermarkets, friends cancelling plans last minute due to getting sick with Covid-19. We might have seen some of those familiar reminders recently that the coronavirus is still around, but could there really be a resurgence of the virus like we experienced during the pandemic years?

According to virologists, the answer seems to be ‘maybe’: since July, the number of people newly infected with Covid-19 has been slowly rising from a very low level.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), nine people per 100,000 inhabitants became newly infected in Germany last week. A year ago, there were only around 270 reported cases.

Various Corona variants are currently on the loose in the country. According to the RKI,  the EG.5 (also called Eris) and XBB.1.16 lines were each detected in the week ending September 3rd with a share of just under 23 percent. 

The highly mutated variant BA.2.86 (Pirola), which is currently under observation by the World Health Organisation (WHO), also arrived in the country this week, according to RKI. 

High number of unreported case

The RKI epidemiologists also warned about a high number of unreported cases since hardly any testing is done. They pointed out that almost half of all registered sewage treatment plants report an increasing viral load in wastewater tests.

The number of hospital admissions has also increased slightly, but are still a far cry from the occupation rate amid the pandemic. Last week it was two per 100,000 inhabitants. In the intensive care units, only 1.2 percent of all beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients.

Still, a good three-quarters (76.4 percent) of people in Germany have been vaccinated at least twice and thus have basic immunity, reported RKI. 

Since Monday, doctors’ offices have been vaccinating with the adapted vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer, available to anyone over 12 years old, with a vaccine for small children set to be released the following week and one for those between 5 and 11 to come out October 2nd.

But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has so far only recommended that people over 60 and those with pre-existing conditions get vaccinated.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Who should get a Covid jab this autumn in Germany?

“The pandemic is over, the virus remains,” he said. “We cannot predict the course of coming waves of corona, but it is clear that older people and people with pre-existing conditions remain at higher risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19”

The RKI also recommended that people with a cold voluntarily wear a mask. Anyone exhibiting cough, cold, sore throat or other symptoms of a respiratory illness should voluntarily stay at home for three to five days and take regular corona self-tests. 

However, further measures such as contact restrictions are not necessary, he said.

One of many diseases

As of this autumn, Covid-19 could be one of many respiratory diseases. As with influenza, there are no longer absolute infection figures for coronavirus.

Saarbrücken pharmacist Thorsten Lehr told German broadcaster ZDF that self-protection through vaccinations, wearing a mask and getting tested when symptoms appear are prerequisites for surviving the Covid autumn well. 

Only a new, more aggressive mutation could completely turn the game around, he added.

On April 7th of this year, Germany removed the last of its over two-year long coronavirus restrictions, including mask-wearing in some public places.

READ ALSO: German doctors recommend Covid-19 self-tests amid new variant

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