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LAW

Germany pulls virus ’emergency brake’ but not everyone on board

Germans are facing tougher nationwide Covid-19 measures from Saturday, including night curfews and school closures, after the government passed a disputed new law designed to slow infections.

Published: 24 April 2021 08:04 CEST
restaurant-closed-berlin-lockdown
The empty menu display of a closed restaurant is seen in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district on April 17, 2021 amid the ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. DAVID GANNON / AFP

With many of its neighbours lifting restrictions despite higher virus rates, Europe’s biggest economy is bucking the trend with the new national law dubbed the “emergency brake”.

Passed amid huge protests in Berlin this week, the law prescribes uniform national restrictions and is designed to end a tug of war between the federal government and Germany’s 16 states.

However, the law faces criticism from some quarters.

Conservative daily Die Welt called the new law “an authoritarian fig leaf” designed to conceal failures of strategy, vaccination and testing”.

The liberal, pro-business FDP party has vowed to take legal action to have it overturned, with party chief Christian Lindner calling it “unconstitutional”.

With Munich confirmed on Friday as a host city for the upcoming Euro 2020 football championship – which starts in June – the new law means that whether fans will be allowed to attend will ultimately depend on the infection rates then.

The mayor of Munich said there was no “guarantee”, contradicting a UEFA statement that the southern German city would host “a minimum of 14,500 spectators” at its four games.

Munich on Friday had an incidence rate of 148.2.

The tough measures will apply from Saturday in all regions with incidence rates of more than 100 new infections per 100,000 people over the last seven days and include sweeping shutdowns and overnight curfews.

Eight German states had an incidence rate above 165 on Friday, with the national average hovering at 164.

READ ALSO: Germany’s new ’emergency brake’ Covid restrictions come into force Saturday 

The new restrictions have also caused confusion on the question of travel through areas with high incidence rates.

“Anyone who does not want to commit an administrative offence may not cross the affected districts by car, train or even plane during the curfew,” the FDP’s Wolfgang Kubicki told the Bild daily.

Virus restrictions in Germany had previously been decided in consultations between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of the 16 states, with the regions ultimately responsible for implementing them.

But in many cases, regional leaders have failed to put in place shutdown measures which they agreed with Merkel, with many choosing broad interpretations of the rules.

Germany’s Robert Koch Institute health agency reported 27,543 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours on Friday and 265 deaths, with the agency’s Lars Schaade warning the numbers were “still too high”.

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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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