SHARE
COPY LINK

COVID-19

‘Hold out a little longer’: German health expert warns against lifting Covid restrictions too soon

There's good news: Covid-19 infections in Germany are coming down - but health expert Karl Lauterbach has urged states to remain cautious until more people have been vaccinated.

'Hold out a little longer': German health expert warns against lifting Covid restrictions too soon
A sign for vaccinations in Darmstadt, Hesse. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa/POOL | Arne Dedert

Lauterbach, the SPD’s health spokesman who has become a high profile figure in the pandemic, said the situation in Germany was positive.

On broadcaster ZDF’s talkshow Maybrit Illner on Thursday, he said that was down to a number of reasons including people changing their behaviour around Easter after hearing about the critical third wave. 

He also said the so-called ’emergency brake’ Covid measures, such as curfews, which some states brought in before Merkel’s nationwide order came into force in mid-April had an impact.

ANALYSIS: Why are Germany’s Covid cases coming down so sharply?

Now states are putting plans together to begin reopening public life. But Lauterbach said the infection situation will improve even more as the vaccination rate increases.

“If it (the proportion of people who have received at least one vaccine dose) is 40 or 50 percent, the incidence actually drops exponentially,” says Lauterbach. “And we will reach this tipping point at the end of May – at the latest.”

Until then, it’s important to hold out, he pleaded. He warned against a scenario where non-vaccinated people get infected in the last stretch. 

“In these last three weeks, I would rely on the scientific models,” Lauterbach said. “We can hold out a little longer, after that it can be opened.”

READ ALSO: 

Lauterbach had said at the weekend that Germany had stopped the third wave, but to defeat it, Covid-19 cases had to drop significantly.

On Friday, Germany recorded 18,485 Covid-19 cases within 24 hours and 284 deaths. The 7-day incidence dropped further to 125.7 cases per 100,000 residents.

About 31.5 percent of the population had received at least one jab up to May 6th, and 8.8 percent had been fully inoculated.

Young people could feel doubly disadvantaged

Chairwoman of the German Ethics Council Alena Buyx said the country should continue to proceed with a sense of proportion and not to reopen public life uncontrollably.

“As much as people are suffering and so many are affected, I think very few want to put that at risk now,” said Buyx.

The talk show guests, which included Hesse state premier Volker Bouffier, sports legend Katarina Witt and hotel manger Caroline von Kreschtmann, also debated the new regulation that will see vaccinated people and those who’ve recovered from Covid-19 face fewer restrictions.

Buyx warned that young people in particular could now see a double disadvantage for themselves. They have put their lives on hold for those at risk, and now have to wait a long time for their vaccination, she said.

Buyx said it is therefore important that people who test negatively for Covid-19 are treated the same way as those who have been vaccinated.

READ ALSO: German parliament passes law to allow freedoms for vaccinated people

‘Economic disaster’

When it comes to businesses hit by the six-month shutdown, hotel manager Caroline von Kretschmann said it is clear that there are difficult times ahead.

Hotels have only been allowed to open for essential travellers since November last year.

“We will hold out, but we will hold out with pain,” von Kretschmann said of her own situation at the Europäischer Hof hotel in Heidelberg

“In the last six months of lockdown we have an average utilisation of around eight percent. This is an economic disaster – no sales, but considerable costs. And we do not get as much in the federal government’s compensation payments.”

Von Kreschmann said she had to make up for the losses with loans, and that would weaken the hotel’s ability to survive in the long run – a situation facing many businesses across Germany as they look to the future. 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

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?

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

SHOW COMMENTS