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EDUCATION

German health ministers ‘want to unify Covid school rules’

Germany's state health ministers are keen to find common ground on Covid testing and quarantines in order to unify the rules in schools across the country.

German health ministers 'want to unify Covid school rules'
Children return to in-person teaching at the start of the new semester at a school in Wernigerode, Saxony-Anhalt. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Matthias Bein

With all of Germany’s 16 states now back at school for the start of the new year, each region has developed its own rules for dealing with the continued threat of Covid-19.

These include differences in rules around when a child or teacher must quarantine, different definitions of a ‘social bubble’ in the classroom and disagreements about the length of time they should be off school.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: The Covid rules you need to know for the new German school term

In some cases, only children sitting next to an infected child must self-isolate, while in others, the entire classroom is sent home. 

But according to a recent report in Tagesschau, state health ministers have indicated that they are keen to engage with each other and attempt to coordinate the rules across the country.

The aim should be to “harmonise the rules as far as possible”, the chairman of Health Ministers’ Conference, Klaus Holetschek, told Taggeschau. 

Covid infection rates have been rising sharply in recent weeks – especially in younger age groups where the majority are unvaccinated.

In the midst of this spike in infections, Education Minister Anja Karliczek and Health Minister Jens Spahn have both called for uniform guidelines for schools.

In particular, the current two-week quarantine period for those who’ve had contact with an infected person could be shortened with the aid of “clever testing strategy”, Karliczek told the German Editorial Network.

Teachers ‘must reveal vaccination status’

On Friday, the government also announced that it would add new clauses to the emergency Disease Protection Law to force teachers and kindergarten workers to declare their vaccination status to their employers – causing consternation amongst union leaders. 

“Health data is very sensitive – employers and authorities should not actually have access in principle,” Heinz-Peter Meidinger, the president of the German Teachers’ Association told DPA at the time.

READ ALSO:

But Spahn defended the move, which also applies to carers, saying it was an attempt to protect the most vulnerable in society. 

Nobody would be fired for being unvaccinated, he added. 

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the 7-day incidence of Covid infections stood at 84.3 per 100,000 people on Monday, up from 83.1 the previous day and 75.8 the previous week.

Meanwhile, 4,749 new infections were recorded in 24 hours, up from 4,559 at the same time last week. Due to delays in reporting from the health authorities over the weekend, the number of infections tends to be lower on a Monday than during the rest of the week. 

Vocabulary 

Uniform rules – (die) einheitliche Regeln 

Duty to provide information – (der) Auskunftspflicht

vulnerable – verletzlich / verwundbar

to rise sharply – stark steigen 

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?

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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